


Tremors

by saturninesunshine



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: F/M, hello AU!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-28
Updated: 2015-04-19
Packaged: 2018-03-19 23:48:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 21,795
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3628779
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/saturninesunshine/pseuds/saturninesunshine
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Skye was fifteen when her father kidnapped her from the orphanage and threw her into the terrigen mist. Cal always insisted on calling her Daisy even when she had formed her teenage identity of Skye No-Name. But having a father was something that no system could ever hold up to. Her father may have done experiments on himself to induce Hulk-like rage and was basically the equivalent of a conspiracy theorist, but he was a father." </p><p>Skyeward AU. Enigmatic Hydra Agent Grant Ward takes it upon himself to help Skye survive. But when Hydra comes out of the shadows, nothing can protect them from two agencies that want them dead.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Part I

**Author's Note:**

> Well this certainly became a monster! I originally envisioned this as a one shot but it kind of exploded. I figured I would spare you all a huge long fic and split it up. I have written all the chapters so this should go pretty quickly. I cut this first chapter in half because the pacing just felt weird to me. This is just to give you a little taste of what's to come. But I promise this is a pro-Skye/Ward fic and you will get more of them than you can stand. Fluff is really hard for me to write, but it sort of gravitates in that direction.

Skye was fifteen when her father kidnapped her from the orphanage and threw her into the terrigen mist. Cal always insisted on calling her Daisy even when she had formed her teenage identity of Skye No-Name. But having a father was something that no system could ever hold up to. Her father may have done experiments on himself to induce Hulk-like rage and was basically the equivalent of a conspiracy theorist, but he was a father.

After her transformation, continuing to hang out with Miles just seemed like a pointless endeavor. Miles who was so principled and so angry at everyone and everything. She could relate. Or at least, she could before. Now she had a family and more confusion than anger. His problems just really didn’t seem to compare. Not when the ground beneath her feet was literally falling apart. 

“I was kind of hoping it was wings,” was all her father had said. California seemed like the logical place to migrate to. There was better camouflage for her control issues there. As disappointed as Cal was, his daughter was still Inhuman and his glee at her condition soon became contagious.

When Skye was twenty-one, California had a 5.0 quake. Not strange by any means, but Skye remembered this one. It was how they found her. She was at a convenience store when she saw the Suit.

Cal had always told her when the men in suits with dark glasses spot her to run. He didn’t want her to end up on "The Index," whatever that was. Cal, who somehow had insider knowledge about the guys who covered up the aliens, told her everything she ever needed to know. 

For the first time, she didn’t listen.

“Daisy Johnson?” The guy must have been over six feet and refused to take off his sunglasses even while indoors. Skye immediately disliked him.

Antagonizing him seemed like a worthwhile endeavor. And she knew she could take him, if she really needed to. He didn’t know who she was, no matter how much he thought he did.

“No.” Skye turned back to the rack of postcards to send to family she didn’t really have. Cal never let her out of his sight, let alone the state.

“No,” he repeated, seemingly in disbelief that someone had actually said that to him for the first time in his life.

Skye had kind of assumed that would make him go away. He still hadn’t taken off his sunglasses.

“Father Calvin Zabo?" 

“So?” asked Skye.

“So we have to have a talk.”

Definitely not going away.

“Do we?” Skye asked.

“Orders from up high.”

He was definitely government and daddy always told her not to talk to tall men in suits. No matter how chiseled their jaw was.

“You know who I am,” Skye said. “Then you know I could have this corner of the street in a pile of rubble in seconds.” 

“I’m not here to hurt you,” he said. 

“Or we can do it another way,” Skye replied. “I just start screaming and someone is going to take away the big scary man.” 

He almost sounded annoyed that she wasn’t afraid of him. “I think we both know you’d rather start a quake.”

The struck her silent for a moment. The way he said that – it didn’t sound government. Not the kind Cal always warned her against anyway. 

“You don’t know me.” 

“I know your type,” he said. “Anti-authority, government. You’d rather just see the world burn than be a part of it.” 

“So take me in,” Skye said. “See what happens.” 

“Okay, we got off on the wrong foot,” he admitted. That was something at least. This must be a high pressure assignment for him. He said the orders came from up high. “I’m not here to take you in. I’m here to offer you an opportunity.” 

“Why?” Skye asked suspiciously.

For a moment, he almost smiled. “You got a name you go by? Your father said it was Daisy.” 

“You talked to Cal,” Skye said. “I don’t have a real way out of this. Do I?”

“Got a name?”

“Skye,” she said hesitantly. It didn't sound real on her tongue and he seemed even more doubtful that it was real. “That’s what they called me in the orphanage.”

“Not what your father named you?”

“Are we here for an interrogation?” Skye snapped. “You said there was an opportunity. But then again, you already talked to my father.”

“He’s been contracted.”

“You mean I’ve been contracted.”

“I’m just the messenger,” he said. 

“The messenger for what?” Skye asked. “That’s the million dollar question, isn’t it?”

She didn’t know why, but she tensed for a moment. The tall, clearly defined man was as still as a statue. That reminded her of the orphanage. That made her think she was about to get a smack. Instead, he just took off his sunglasses. His dark eyes almost turned gold when the light hit it. Somehow, his face just made it worse. He was way too good looking. She definitely hated this guy.

“I’m here to make you a one time offer.”

“Hooray.”

“Listen.” He clearly had a low tolerance for humor of any kind. It made her want to do what he said. Not because she was afraid but because he was serious. She never thought she would meet someone so serious.

When Cal went into his rages, she could always feel it in her bones. It was like tremors in the earth that were easy to spot a mile away. This person – this _suit_ – was stone cold and she would never be able to predict him in a million years. This coming from only knowing him for three minutes.

“I work for a secret organization,” he said clearly, “that is looking to recruit someone with your talents.”

“It sounds like Cal already made that decision for me,” Skye said.

“The decision is yours,” he answered. “The choice is always yours. I’m just here to let you know that you have one.”

 _Choice_. That was the key word. She never remembered having a choice in her life. And here was this prince charming on his white horse telling her, what?

“What does that mean?” Skye asked.

“Do you know what The Index is?” he asked. 

Skye shrugged. “Is that where they hide the aliens?”

“Probably,” he answered. That wasn’t the answer she was expecting. “It’s where they put high risk gifted’s such as yourself. And if they deem it necessary, they cross you off.” 

A chill ran down her spine.

“Don’t be fooled,” he continued. “You are very strong and very powerful. Never forget that. But mankind always fears what it doesn’t understand.” 

“And what are you offering?” Skye asked.

“It’ll be hard but fun,” he offered. For the first time, that sounded like something she could actually enjoy. Coming from his guy. “But you won’t ever have to worry about men in dark suits putting a back bag over your head.”

“I can’t help but notice you happen to be in a dark suit,” Skye said. “And with sun glasses to boot.”

He did grin this time. She finally decided that he actually was very good looking. Damn. “That’ll be the fun part. I promise you.”

“I don’t believe promises from strange men,” Skye said. 

“You shouldn’t,” he answered. “But this is got a ticking clock.” 

“How very suspicious,” Skye said. 

“Well?”

“I like fun.” 

The agent put his glasses back on, his stern gaze shielded from her.

“You got a name?” Skye asked. “I gave you mine. Unless I get a mysterious black bag over my head.”

“Ward.”

“Ward?” Skye asked. “That’s it? What is that like Kesha?”

He didn't seem to get the reference. “Just Ward.”

It was now her mission to get a name out of this man.


	2. Part II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You really need to get a sense of humor, Ward,” Skye said. “That is if you’re going to teach me how to fire a gun. Hey, if you want, I could teach you how to move tectonic plates.”
> 
> Skye gave him an almost encouraging smile. He mimicked her expression.
> 
> “There it is,” Skye said. “A smile. What’s next, a compliment?”
> 
> “If you’re lucky.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there are going to be a lot more chapters than I meant. The pacing just got weird. Originally this was supposed to be a one-off but now I'm getting really into it and elaborating on a lot of stuff. Thank you for such a warm welcome with this one. I'm really proud of it. The chapters are also a little inconsistent in length, but hopefully none of you have a problem with that. There was a lot of need for establishing the relationship in this one and it progresses pretty fast. Again, I could have cut it in half but I enjoyed it too much. These chapters are also coming out a little fast, but most of it is already written and I'd like to get it out there. Thanks to everyone who commented and liked it!

She spotted him immediately.

And it wasn’t because she was looking for him. In fact, she had come to the conclusion she would never see Government Agent No-First-Name Ward ever again. She let the shivers up and down her shoulder blades tire.

The funny thing was that she probably wouldn’t have recognized him at all if he was in his suit. Her father had always warned her against the type but now they were officially in it. It had to make you more wary, didn’t it? Now you really didn’t know which suit was friend and which was foe. Skye just assumed everyone was foe. Not a great way to make friends, but it wouldn’t get you killed either. She had never been a team player anyway.

She spotted him not because he looked like Agent Ward but he looked just like a guy. He must be undercover. Instead of the clean-cut regulation look he had sported before, he had a five o’clock shadow (it suited him) and a leather jacket over a white tee (that suited him even more.) 

She ignored that impulse. She wouldn’t say that Agent Ward was bad at undercover. In fact, she could probably assume that was his best quality (pushing that scruff out of her mind.) But that look stood out to her as very genuine and not something you saw a lot of around here. No one told the truth. She could assume a government agent tried to look as close to the truth as possible while undercover.

Ward wasn’t enough of a hipster to have a full beard and even while looking like such a _dude_ , he had a threatening presence. He stood out because he couldn’t stand out at all. And the fact that she had skills that weren’t always designed for destruction. In fact, she had been a pretty good hacker before the mist. Now it was just another skill.

Skye knew for a fact that there were no agents of any kind that should be in that bar right now. But there he was. Agent No-First-Name Ward on assignment. And in her place of business. This simply would not do. She had to get rid of him. He was a liability. But she couldn’t help but entertain the idea of him for a moment. He was like a completely different person than what she saw before. It intrigued her. But he was a threat and as much as she could admire his visage, he had to go. 

She strode through the upscale bar as comfortable as you please.

She stood out to him too. She was smart enough to know that much. It was her trade. It didn’t look like he was looking at her, but years of running from authorities had taught her what a cop look looks like. And he was watching her.

As though it were a complete coincidence, she sat next to him at the bar, one stool separating them. She was good at not looking at men she needed to. A lot of them took it as an invitation. But for Ward, he knew what she was telling him. He would have to make the first move. It was a power play and he would have to reveal himself to her before she would ever even deign to cast him a glance.

When he didn’t move immediately, she wanted to smile. She could still feel his hard look on the side of her face but she knew he was annoyed. Somehow, it gave her a vague thrill. She wanted to chase that feeling.

Even though she knew that she couldn’t.

She heard the stool next to hers scrape and she had to hide her smile in earnest this time. And again, as though it were coincidentally at the same time, Skye eased herself out of her jacket. When she finally looked at Ward, he was rolling his eyes.

But his eyes also lingered a little too long.

“What seems to be the problem, officer?” she asked innocently. Ward dragged his eyes back up to her face. 

“A lot of things.” He was back to drab and serious and it was so perfectly dull. 

“Sorry I asked.”

“You’re being too obvious.” He offered it like it was some sage piece of wisdom and it was her turn to roll her eyes at him. They were the Eye Rolling Twins and they would be caught in this cycle until death. She was sure of it.

“ _I’m_ being too obvious?”

“We’re two attractive people,” Ward said smoothly. “We can sit next to each other.”

“Oh _can_ we?” Skye sneered. “Thank you, agent.”

“Now you’re not being discreet enough,” he almost growled.

“Maybe you should give me the handbook,” Skye said, taking a drink. “What do you want, Ward?" 

(There, is that better?)

“I thought we should talk.”

Now she could freely admit she didn’t know where this was going. 

“You didn’t strike me as a social butterfly.”

“This isn’t a social call,” Ward said like a warning. 

“Don’t flatter yourself,” Skye said shortly. She appraised his look without shame. “I’ve never seen you this casual.” 

He looked down at his Bad Boy garb. “Is that supposed to be an insult?”

“It’s not supposed to be anything.” 

One thing he got in the check column was caring enough to want to impress her. (She didn’t know why that was a pro, and she shoved the thought away.)

“I’m on assignment,” Ward said.

“As what?” Skye asked. “Not So Subtle Douchebag?”

“ _That_ sounds like an insult.” 

“I’m not here to critique your wardrobe.” 

“Why are you here?” he asked.

“You tell me,” Skye said. “You’re the one who was lying in wait.”

“You’re easy to track,” Ward said. “Thought I could kill two birds with one stone.” 

“I’m your mark?"

“No,” he answered. “I figured I could finish my assignment and give you yours.” 

“You’re here to give me a job?” Skye asked. She shouldn't have felt disappointed.

“Orders from up high.” 

Of course.

“And it had to be you?” Skye asked. 

“Like I said,” Ward answered. “Two birds.”

“Well I wish I could help you, agent.” She liked how he bristled at the word. “I’m otherwise occupied.” 

“With what?” He sounded offended. And almost… jealous? (She shoved that thought away too, even if he did make it sound like she was threatening him.) 

“I hate to break it to you,” Skye said, “but Hydra and I aren’t going steady.” 

“You’re on a job,” Ward stated in disbelief. 

For a moment, Skye just thought Ward was doing one of his better-known grimaces.

“What is this?” she asked.

“What?”

“Your face,” she teased. “It’s doing this weird contorting. Like your lips are almost turning up at the corners. What is that?”

“It’s orders from Hydra,” Ward said, his patience at an end. He was seemed ashamed for smiling. What a night this was turning out to be. “This is a time sensitive issue.”

“I signed a contract,” Skye said. “I can’t just bail.” 

Ward regarded her for a moment. She thought there was warmth in his eyes but it vanished as though it had never been there. 

“I’m sure you can find someone else,” she said. 

“I can’t.” He wasn’t looking at her, just prodding at the appetizer he hadn’t touched in front of him. 

“What do you mean?”

“They need you,” Ward said. He ran a hand through his hair. He was under pressure and for a moment she was almost sad to put him in a tight spot like that. “And they need me.” 

“Sorry, repeat that for me please.” She couldn’t believe it. He glared at her, clearly not wanting to give her the satisfaction.

“You have a specific skill set,” Ward said, “and I have a specific skill set.”

“And?”

“And they need someone with a history in demolition and someone with a history in efficiency.” He didn’t have to explain which of them was which. 

“Isn’t there someone who has both of those specific skill sets?” 

“They’re mutually exclusive.”

She didn’t like to think that was true, but didn’t bother saying as much.

“Well I suppose I could help you,” Skye said swirling her drink. “But only if you ask real nice.” 

“Skye.”

“Relax,” Skye said, rolling her eyes. “I’ll be done with this in a sec.”

She felt his eyes on her back as she made her way towards her mark. 

“That wasn’t demolition,” Ward said conversationally as she returned with an illegally acquired flash drive.

“You may not be aware of this,” Skye said, “but I also had a specific skill set before my father turned me into a freak.” 

She pocketed the drive for later. 

“Now,” she answered. “What’s this job you were bothering me about?”

Ward didn’t say anything at first. And when he did, she barely heard it.

“I don’t think you’re a freak.”

* * *

Ward was the one to check into the motel. He was clearly a cliché alpha dog and had to display his testosterone. Skye really tried to stop rolling her eyes at him but it was becoming something of a habit. She had to settle for doing it behind his back.

“A queen bed for you and your girlfriend, Mr. James.”

Skye never thought that spies should get flustered. Or maybe Ward’s alias of this “Mr. James” was a person who got flustered easily. Either way, she heard him hastily replying about “not my girlfriend” before taking the room key. 

Skye slung her bag over her shoulder and followed in suit. Alpha Male, indeed.

“I don’t get why we have to get the same room,” Skye said once they were safely inside the dingy motel room. “Isn’t that a little… _indiscreet_?”

“No,” Ward said shortly, peering out the windows. “Getting separate rooms would actually be more obvious and suspicious.”

She waited until he turned back around to face her expectantly. “I was teasing you.” 

Ward tossed his bag to the floor. She wasn’t allowed to look inside it, but it sounded as though there was more in there than just weapons. She couldn’t let her curiosity get the better of her. They both might be in a morally grey area, but she wasn’t an idiot. Hydra probably wasn’t very forgiving. And looking in his bag might get him in trouble. She didn't dislike him _that_ much.

“We should get some sleep,” Ward finally announced. “We have to get up early to get to the mark.” 

“Whatever you say, Boss Man,” Skye said in surrender. There was the slight problem of there only being one bed.

“I’ll take the floor,” Ward said, not allowing for any awkwardness. So determined.

“You didn’t give me a chance to fight you for the bed,” Skye said. “Arm wrestle you for it.”

“Can’t you just…” Ward said in frustration. 

“What?” Skye challenged him. 

“Take this seriously.” She could see it in him. How the lives he had taken weighed heavy and ugly. But she couldn’t be like that. If she thought about it, if she let it take control, then that’s all it ever would be. Then she’d be like him, wracked with self-doubt. 

She wished she could help him. 

“Hey,” Skye shrugged, “you pay me, I’m dead serious.” 

Ward didn’t crack a smile.

“That was a joke,” she said. He didn't seem to be that into jokes. She would have to fight against her better nature.

Ward nodded in agreement, unzipping his duffle. She couldn’t say the impressive names of the automatic rifles he was toting, but they looked impressive enough without saying anything at all. 

“Using powers is cheating,” Ward said after a moment. He started dismantling his guns.

Skye sat on the bed. “What?”

“If we arm wrestle,” Ward said. “Just so you know, using your abilities is cheating.”

He looked back at her and she smiled brightly at him. It looked like that embarrassed him so he looked away again.

“You have powers, Ward,” Skye said gently.

His looked back at her again, uncertain.

“Powers aren't always mystical,” Skye said. “You have abilities no one else has, too.”

His eyes looked sad, but he smiled all the same. She had to give him credit for that.

* * *

The bed was huge, okay? Bigger than she was used to.

Those were the thoughts that kept popping up in her brain instead of letting her sleep. Ward didn’t snore. He was too fit for that, most likely. And too restrained. She would probably be the snorer, but he probably wouldn't say anything even if she was. 

It wasn't like the night was cold. It wasn't like she was lonely or anything. The bed was just _really_ big. And she was a tiny thing. All Ward slept with was a pillow. It was just so depressing. That’s all.

“I can still arm wrestle you.”

For a moment she thought that he actually was asleep and his back was facing her not to hide the fact that he was awake, which had been her suspicion. She dimly thought she figured he would be the type to sleep without a shirt on. (God brain, shut _up_.)

He just had a loose fitting shirt. Just like her. He didn’t answer. Maybe it was better that way. To be sure, she wouldn’t be sleeping on the ground either. She wasn’t bred for that kind of life.

“You’d lose.”

Skye smiled at the ceiling at his answer. His back was still facing her but she heard him well enough.

“Oh, I’m not sleeping on the floor,” Skye said. This caused him to turn around. He hadn't slept any more than she had. “But you should at least get four decent hours of sleep.”

“We’re not switching?" 

“Nope,” Skye said succinctly. She in turn rolled to her side, her back to him this time. “But if you decide you want to stop torturing yourself, there’s a whole half of this bed dedicated to you.”

“I’m very disciplined.” It was a lame reply and she could tell that he knew it.

She laughed. “No kidding.”

Silence stretched on for about twenty minutes. She was close to falling asleep herself when she felt the bed dip with his weight.

* * *

“I’m just saying I could give you a few pointers.”

Skye wanted to groan, but that would give away their position. There was a dead mark in a collapsed building and they were about a mile off. Soon they would be in neutral territory and she could groan all she wanted.

“Oh, could you?” Skye asked sarcastically. “Please, oh please Mr. Secret Agent Man. Teach me all of your manly knowledge. I’d be so lost without you.” 

His face was threatening to smile. She took that as a victory. There had been very little interaction between them during the job at all. In fact, Ward hadn’t even been on site. Skye was still perfecting controlling her quakes, but she had to be in the vicinity to actually cause any damage. 

Ward didn’t. He had perfected that. And now he was going on about how computers and mystical abilities weren’t enough. She should be going for weapons training, despite the fact that she wasn’t even a Hydra agent at all.

“Forget I offered,” he said. Sometimes it was easy to make him give up.

“You really need to get a sense of humor, Ward,” Skye said. “That is if you’re going to teach me how to fire a gun. Hey, if you want, I could teach you how to move tectonic plates.”

Skye gave him an almost encouraging smile. He mimicked her expression.

“There it is,” Skye said. “A smile. For real this time. What’s next, a compliment?”

“If you’re lucky.”

“See?” Skye said. “You can have a sense of humor if you really try.”

“Maybe that’s what you can teach me,” Ward said. Her heart thudded against her chest and it took her a minute to convince herself that she wasn’t in any danger.

“Sounds like a fair trade.”

No danger at all.

It was technically against Hydra regulation for outside fraternization but then again, wasn’t Hydra regulation just SHIELD regulation? And he had broken a lot of those rules anyway. 

* * *

She realized she was in trouble when he taught her disarming. Ward had a makeshift gym in the apartment that Hydra held for him. Or maybe it was SHIELD. To her, they were one in the same.

She knew him well enough to know that he had reasons for everything he did. That reason was John Garrett. Never having met the man, she wasn’t about to pass judgment.

The gym had a punching bag and not much else. It was well worn and Ward made her do push-ups a lot. But this was something that she had not prepared herself for. 

Ward spun her in his arms, demonstrating how to wrestle a gun from someone. If she could pinpoint a moment, that would be it. She hadn’t been listening at all to anything he had just told her. All she could think of was how strong his arms were and how good he smelled. 

She was so screwed. 

“Run that back to me.” 

But she wasn’t about to show it.

Ward let her go, standing back, his arms crossed in that masculine-showing-of-my-muscles sort of way. Completely unintentional, of course. Ward didn’t seem like the type of guy to develop crushes. 

“Skye.” He sounded peculiarly vexed like he was actually taking this seriously. Not like they were two acquaintances without hierarchy just trading trade secrets. (She had given him Intel on some other gifted’s she had met and was only now realizing how stupid that was.) 

But Skye was quick on her feet. She tossed him some sarcastic quip about being untidy and flustered at such close proximity.

It didn’t seem to work this time. He growled and hunched about like he did when he wanted to be closed off. She didn’t know what to make of that. She was actually starting to think they were friends. He didn’t turn her into SHIELD and she helped him with his little assignments. But for some reason, he didn’t like how she joked with him.

She then realized that it was hard to have an equal friendship when you didn’t even know your friend’s first name.

That put a stop to everything.


	3. Part III

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first time Ward saw the quake, it was beautiful. Not how destruction and breaking things just because he could was sometimes beautiful. This wasn't the dark and dangerous part of him that raged and spat up blood. This was something tender and gentle. But that in its own right was dangerous.

The first time Ward saw the quake, it was beautiful. Not how destruction and breaking things just because he could was sometimes beautiful. This wasn't the dark and dangerous part of him that raged and spat up blood. This was something tender and gentle. But that in its own right was dangerous. He tried not to think all of this because she was undercover. That seemed like a shield. The Undercover Shield was used so he only saw her as an asset. The only times he saw her were purely professional. 

 _Professional_ , Grant.

(He didn’t have to remind himself. Really.) 

Professional Skye was what he heard her referred to as Quake. Mercenary Gifted extraordinaire who had gained a reputation even before he met her. Not just as I Am Become Death, Destroyer of Worlds, but even as a decent petty thief and hacker. Skye was talented. She was hard and she made herself small and durable. She made herself impenetrable.

That was Skye. Undercover Skye was neither Daisy nor Quake. She was just Skye. Free, independent, reckless, beautiful Skye.

( _Beautiful_?)

He would let himself think that. Only for five, seconds though. And then he would be Agent Grant Douglas Ward again. Specialist. Killer. Spy. Only for five seconds as she danced in the dive bar, her hair free and colored blue in the strobes. That was how the targets saw her.

Grant Ward was not a target.

That was how they saw before they couldn’t see anything anymore. Some popular song from a Hollywood franchise about revolution was playing. She moved like she had no fear. Skye never did. That’s when the lights exploded and she became Quake again. 

When he pulled himself out of the bar, nursing a head wound from a falling floodlight, he forgot he wasn’t supposed to be calling her beautiful anymore. 

The lights had exploded all around her. Red. Orange. Yellow. Like flames licking her skin. Her eyes closed, her fists clenched, her hair flying through the air, moving with the waves and vibrations of the tremors. 

“Don’t you lay a finger on me.” That was the first thing she told him when he found her seizing on the side of the street. He ignored her, pinning her shoulders to the ground until she stopped shaking. 

“Skye.”

Her dark eyes narrowed and he realized she thought he was someone else. Some person coming to take advantage of her or hurt her while she was lying in the street. But when she saw him, she changed her tune. He really didn’t _want_ to want take that as a compliment. This was getting complicated

The more he thought about her, the more he was beginning to think that one really couldn’t control these things. These _feelings_. That was bad for a government spy. He knew that.

“I don’t remember ordering a knight on a white horse,” Skye said, dazed but playful. He couldn’t help his relieved smile. 

Skye, or _Quake_ as Garrett insisted on calling her, had a certain history. While her father had encouraged her in exhibiting her powers in a most healthy manner, he never preached moderation. From time to time, Skye’s powers became too much.

 _Ashes, ashes, we all fall down._  

Something his mother used to sing that to him. That was before Thomas cried nights in the closet and his sister was put on medication. That was before _Grant_ had become hollow and hungry, full of rage.

Ward couldn’t get a word in. Skye’s eyes had glazed over and before he could tell her that he was so _glad_ she seemed to be alright, she fell unconscious.

It was weeks before Cal let Ward see her. Good thing he was a doctor and well versed in his daughter’s condition. When he was allowed to see her, he wished that he hadn’t been. As someone who worked for a couple of secret agencies, he was well versed in bleeding people and seeing the light go from their eyes. This was so different. So different that he couldn’t even understand it, couldn't stand it.

Skye never showed it for one second. She just smiled at him with that teasing smile he had learned to distance himself from. It was easier that way, no matter how good it felt.

“Hey, Secret Agent Man.” Her voice was soft. She looked so small. And so… blue.

And yellow and green. Bruising smattered up her collarbone and that was only the part of her that wasn't hidden under the blanket.

Broken. All broken. 

“Stop looking at me like that,” Skye said in annoyance. “You look like a statue.” It was a front, he knew. But he couldn’t help himself.

“Sorry,” he said.

She always said things like that to him when he was unreadable. He tried to be more accessible but it got to a point when he didn’t know why her opinion of him bothered him so much. And then when he figured it out, he wished he hadn’t.

“Skye…”

“Stop,” she said. Her eyes were hard. Strong. She had always been strong. She would have to be strong for a little bit longer. “I thought I was clear when I said I didn’t ask for a white knight.” 

While this was clearly her defense mechanism, he hated it. He hated how she had to hide like that. Hide from him.

(And he hated that he hated it.)

“Then it shouldn’t be a problem,” Ward said shortly. “I’m not one.”

“Please don’t stay here,” Skye said. “It’s really no big deal.” 

He wondered if that had more to do with the lurking presence of her disconcerting father than anything else. Maybe he did make her feel uncomfortable being here. Or maybe she was too comfortable. He tried not to think about that. 

“What did your father say?” Ward asked.

“This isn’t the first time this has happened and it won’t be the last,” Skye waved away his concern. “It just happens sometimes.”

“You have broken bones.” His worries consisted of having to pry a stray bullet from his skin and sewing it up himself in a public bathroom. Broken bones never seemed to be a concern. Until now.

“And they’ll heal,” Skye assured him. “They always do. It’s just… aftershock”

“Aftershock?” Ward repeated. That made it sound worse. That made it sound casual.

“Yeah,” Skye shrugged as much as her casts let her. “There are always consequences to everything. What goes up must come down. You don’t get to be this attractive and this smart without repercussions.” 

It hurt to smile. But he really wanted to, for some reason. “That doesn’t make it okay.”

“Look at you,” Skye said fondly. "Mr. Secret Agent trying to articulate himself. I never thought I’d see the day.”

“Not everything is joke.” 

“And not everything is serious,” Skye said. “Sorry to bring some philosophy down on you. I do what I gotta do.”

If he closed his eyes, maybe his smile would go away. He felt her poke his cheek. It wasn’t working.

“Can’t block me out, Ward,” Skye said. “Can’t be done.”

“I don’t know what I would do,” Ward said – _without you_ –“if something happened to you.”

“Good thing you’ll never have to find out.” 

Typical Skye, never taking anything seriously. Typical Ward, never wanting to broach the subject. 

“You really don’t have to look so dour all the time,” Skye said. “Live a little.”

“Any suggestions?”

“We could play a game,” she offered.

“A game,” he said dubiously.

“Oh come on,” Skye said. “Do not pretend you’re all high and mighty for games.”

“I’ve always been partial to Battleship,” Ward said. He didn't know why he just said that. He had to cover his tracks so she didn’t get suspicious. “And it’s good for your strategy skills.”

“Oh really?” Skye asked. “You can just admit it. No-Name Ward has a weakness for board games. There’s no shame in it.”

“No-Name?”

“Yeah,” Skye said as she pointed Ward into the direction of the game closet. “It’s what I decided to call you in my head since I don’t know your first name.”

“You could have just asked,” Ward said, bringing the game to her bed. Skye clapped her hands with excitement. He watched her as she took the station out of the box and opened it, propping it on her lap like a laptop. 

When she looked up at him, he realized he was staring.

“I thought it was a secret or something,” Skye said. “Besides, where’s the fun in that?”

Plenty of people knew his God-given name. Employers on both sides. But somehow, telling Skye that seemed like something different. It was almost like crossing the line, even when she could just be a stranger he passed on the street. That wasn’t against the rules, exactly. 

But with her, it was different.

It would always be different. Even now, in the house that she lived with her father, he felt like he was doing something wrong. Garrett always told him that attachments got you killed. Skye knew about Garrett, but not enough that it made Ward feel comfortable with telling her as much. And besides, it made him nervous to turn his back on Garrett’s teachings. It made him nervous to be vulnerable.

“Maybe I’ll tell you some day,” he said. “But only if you sink my Battleship.”

Another thing that should have made him nervous: her smile. He had no idea what he had just gotten himself into.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ward point of view! Yes, he has opinions and feelings. I had no real established structure for who gets the pov other than what feels right. Skye is the main point of view, but Ward is of course important as well and gets his time in the sun. I really hesitate to call this a filler chapter because I hate filler and I do feel like it's necessary to establish some things, but it is a bit shorter than the other chapters. The relationship is still on track, but there will be other plot things to come into play that some of you have picked up on (which I love.)


	4. Part IV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everything moved in slow motion. The first time he asked her to go on an assignment with her, they were both drinking. Every time she saw him, she felt like she had taken ten tequila shots. Her heart was threatening to bust from her chest and before she could even understand what she was doing, she had pinned herself to his broad chest, pressed her lips against his for what seemed like a millennia.

His name was Grant. She thought that maybe there was something victorious about discovering that information. Not even discovering it but _winning it through domination._

Sometimes she got a little competitive when they played board games. It was becoming more of a regular occurrence. But after completely _destroying_ him in Battleship, Ward had been forced to give her his first name. That added to her ego but something about it made it seem like he wasn’t too sorry to give up that prize information. 

In fact, he didn’t even mention the bet. Slippery, sneaky Ward. Acting like he really wanted to tell her and not because of some bet.

“You know you can call me Grant.”

They were in the middle of another one of their illegal training sessions. He insisted to go easy since she was still technically in recovery, but saying something like that was really just encouragement. He should know that about her. But since she had insisted, Ward overcompensated by giving them a water break literally every twenty-five minutes. What a softie.

When he spoke, it threw her for a moment. She had never heard him be so open.

She decided to make fun of him. “What’s a grant?”

He was getting better at smiling. “It’s my name.”

“Oh.” She thought it would have annoyed him more. Now everything seemed heightened for no discernable reason. It wasn’t so funny now that she thought about it 

“So,” Skye said. “Grant.” It was a very succinct and strong name. Like him. He never said ten words when three would do. 

“Should I call you Daisy?” he asked. It took her a moment to realize he was trying to get to know her better. Or maybe he was trying to joke.

“That’s not my name,” Skye said. He should have known that by now. Then again, they never really talked about either of their origin stories. They had just been means to an end for each other for a long time. Backstories weren’t really part of the package. But now it seemed important for some reason. Now she wanted to know.

“It’s on your legal records.”

“You checked up on me?” Skye asked. 

If _Grant_ could blush, he would have. She couldn’t help but be a little flattered. 

“You have an extensive rap sheet.” Did he sound almost impressed?

“Thank you,” Skye said, accepting the compliment. “Daisy is just what my father calls me. I was Skye for fifteen years before that.” Skye had been a handle she used for hacking and she liked it better than Mary-Sue Poots.

“Keeping track of your identities,” Ward said with understanding. “It’s not easy.” 

“We all have baggage, Agent,” Skye said. She gave him a mock salute. “Thanks for the sesh.” 

She could tell they wouldn’t be getting anywhere with their training. Not today at least. Although this line of inquiry intrigued her, something they were both really bad at was being vulnerable. They just exhibited it in different ways.

“Skye,” he said, his voice softer this time. She stopped and looked back at him. “You would be a great agent.”

“Don’t get soft on me now,” Skye said. “And you know that I’m not one. Just an asset, right?” 

“It’s just the truth,” Ward said. “I would know. If things could be different…”

“Then they’d be different,” Skye said. “If Cal hadn’t thrown me into the mist we never would have met.”

He mulled that over for a moment. 

“Family can be…” Ward said. “Difficult.”

Skye nodded. “You’ll have to tell me about that sometime.”

His eyes wavered for a moment. When the light hit them, they almost looked gold. She had heard about John Garrett and the type of father figure he was to Ward, but she knew that what Ward was really referring to was blood. She knew because he never talked about it. She had prodded before and never got much out of it

“I’m leaving,” Ward said.

When Skye looked at him, he almost looked confused at himself, like he couldn’t control the words coming out of his mouth. It was rather abrupt but then again, she had been the one to bully him into training her.

“I’ll get out of your hair then.”

“No,” Ward said. “I meant I’m going on a mission.”

Ward never really fumbled with his words. It was hard to do that when he spoke so little.

“Okay.” Skye still didn’t understand the point. He went on a lot of missions. There had been a time when the only reason they had to interact was him throwing targets at her.

Now she was in his house, knew the name of his dog, and confided in him things she hadn’t even told her own father. She knew why he was saying the things he was. Or at least, she could understand the impulse. What she didn’t know was what it all meant.

Ward didn’t seem to know how to respond. She couldn’t say that she did either.

“I guess I’ll see you when you get back,” Skye prodded, hoping it would send him careening towards the point he was obviously trying to make. 

“I’m going to Paris for a few days,” Ward said. “And no one to feed my dog.”

It was so stupid and so funny to her. Of course he didn’t. She didn’t think that spies generally put down roots of any kind.

Ward’s American Staffordshire terrier had bonded with Skye. Of course she would be happy to do it. But then again, she could never really resist the temptation to tease him.

“Are you asking me something?” Skye hinted.

“Do you mind?” Ward asked. “Taking care of him while I’m gone.”

He was being so _weird_.

“Of course not,” was Skye’s immediate answer. But it brought up another whole mess of questions that she didn’t want to address. It didn’t seem like she had a choice anymore. “People have people, you know. They have foundation. People that care about them.”

“I don’t,” Ward said.

“Yeah, you do,” Skye said. “You have your dog.” 

That made Ward laugh, to her delight.

“And obviously you have me.”

“I do?” Now he was the one pushing her. She could feel it. He was even closing the distance between them. She never knew Ward to be aggressive like that. Not emotionally aggressive at the very least. Now he was the one making her feel at odds and confused. 

“I’ll be here for as long as you need me,” Skye said honestly. She refused to let her guard down right now. She didn’t know if she could even if she tried. “Is it for long?”

“The job in Paris shouldn’t even take a day,” Ward said. He opened his mouth to speak again, but nothing came out. She could feel him hanging on to the edge of his own sentence. 

“That’s the official story, I guess,” Skye said. She wasn’t government. She certainly wasn’t privy to top-secret missions. “Eyes only. Confidential. Government stuff.”

“Something’s happening,” Ward said quietly. Skye was sure that he knew how to sweep for bugs in his own house. But his tone still sounded confidential. He sounded worried. He sounded like he was confiding in her.

“What does that mean?” Skye asked.

“I wish I knew,” Ward answered. “I just feel like something’s about to happen.”

“Garrett?”

“No,” Ward said shortly.

It was never about Garrett. Even though Skye felt that it probably had a lot to do with him. But it wasn’t Hydra. It was the others. The missions he never really talked about. The ominous SHIELD that would shoot her in the head if they were given half a chance.

“I can’t contact Garrett without suspicion,” Ward said. Was that why he was talking to her like this? Because he had no one else? 

“Hey,” Skye said. He broke out of his reverie and look at her. “Don’t die out there, okay? I still need to work on the automatic.” 

“We’ll work on it when I get back,” he promised. “If you can manage the safety.”

“I’ll work on it,” Skye said. “You’re a good liar. You’ll be fine.”

Ward’s brow furrowed. She didn’t mean it to upset him. It was meant to be comforting. And she was usually so good at that. But she could tell he didn’t like what she said. 

“I don’t lie all the time,” Ward said.

“I know.”

“Only when I have to.”

“Got it.”

Ward still didn’t look satisfied. “I don’t lie in this room.”

Skye wasn’t sure what he meant by that. So she just said, “I’d hate to lose my SO.”

“Whatever you say, rookie,” Ward said. It was a joke between them. Their relationship obviously wasn’t official. She wasn’t a part of the agency and she had been in the field too many times to be new at it. But they had fallen into this joking pattern that she never saw outside of this room. “Don’t get into too much trouble while I’m gone.” 

“Only the trouble they pay me for.”

“Come here,” Ward said. Skye hesitated for a moment. He motioned for her to follow him. They walked into the kitchen. Ward stepped on a loose floorboard near the kitchen island. “Pry it up if you get into trouble.” 

“Are you in danger?” Skye asked. This seemed largely private. This seemed like a secret between the two of them. 

“You never know,” Ward said. “Just if anything happens while I’m gone. You’ll know what to do.” 

“I don’t know what to do now,” Skye said.

“You will.”

There was an awkward pause and Ward put his hand on her shoulder. Skye rolled her eyes and pushed him away. 

Thanks, defense mechanism.

“Just show me where the dog food is, Grant.”

He smiled. “You got it, rookie.

* * *

It was only after he returned from his two-day trip in Paris did Skye feel a little guilty. She had heard he had a run-in with the Rising Tide. This was a group she had not been entirely unfamiliar with. She had done contract work with them from time to time. She thought she had even heard her childhood friend Miles did work for them too, but she had never seen him.

“You look spiffy,” Skye said as Ward slipped through the front door.

Humor was her only defense against someone who didn’t seem to really exhibit any. Ward closed the door behind him, dressed in a standard black suit and tie. She hadn’t seen him dressed like that since they first met. 

“Is that a compliment or an insult?” His asked. 

“With you, it can always be both,” Skye teased. “What’s on your face?” 

Ward’s eyes narrowed before he realized. He took off the fake glasses. “Long story. I had to shake a tail.” 

“Not that long apparently,” Skye said. “Any real trouble?” 

“I was about to ask you the same thing.”

Skye shook her head. Sneaking away from her father every day to walk the dog had been more challenging than she thought it would be. It shone a light on the unnatural manner of the fake domestic lifestyle they had going for them. Cal didn’t know how to be a father and she never discovered how to be a daughter. 

But an asset? That’s something she could do. Maybe even a friend. 

“I don’t want to keep you,” he said.

Skye stood up suddenly. Regret flashed in his eyes.

“You’re right,” Skye said. “Sorry.”

This seemed to be a common occurrence.

“No,” Ward said. “I didn’t meant it like that. You don’t have to leave.”

“Well, my work here is done,” Skye said casually, gathering her things. She knew what she really wanted him to say. But she couldn’t figure out any rational reason why he would want her to stay. 

“Wait, Skye,” Ward said. “Please. Just sit down for a minute.” 

“Who died?” Skye asked immediately. The joke fell flat.

Ward smiled tightly. “No one you know.”

“That you know of,” Skye said. She sat on the couch next to him. 

“They’re sending me on assignment.” 

“You just got back.” 

“I know,” Ward said. “This is something different.” 

“Hydra.” 

“SHIELD,” Ward corrected. “It’s… for awhile.” 

“Your poor dog,” she sighed. 

“Skye.” He wasn't being evasive anymore.

“How long?” she asked.

Ward just looked at her. She wished that she could understand why this moment felt so loaded.

“I have to get up.” Skye swung her legs over the couch.

She felt his heavy eyes on her as she moved around. She had always been a restless spirit. Ward looked as if he could turn to stone, as he always did.

“How long was your longest assignment?” Skye asked conversationally.

“Sixteen months,” Ward said without hesitation. He didn’t even have to think about it. “I was undercover as a Russian attaché in Warsaw.”

“This isn’t that,” Skye said.

“No,” Ward agreed. He sounded tired. She didn’t blame him. She felt tired. “This is indefinitely. Until we come out of the shadows.”

It was a familiar saying. Something all double agents would repeat to themselves in the dark. But none of them really knew when that would be.

“So I guess there’s like a 97% chance you’ll be dead next time we see each other.” 

“Why do you say that?” Ward asked. 

Skye shrugged. “Just a feeling. No chance in talking to you again.”

“I can’t make contact,” Ward said. “I’ll be in a mobile unit for… I don’t know how long.” 

“Not even to Garrett.”

Ward’s eyes narrowed. He didn’t know where she was going with this.

“Not to anyone,” Ward said. “Not unless I’m using the protocols.”

Protocols that didn’t extend to her. They had already discussed this. This was déjà vu all over again. The earth was spinning and she felt sick. 

“Don’t die out there." 

It didn't sound like a joke anymore.

“You either. When I’m out there, I have to be a different person,” Ward said. “If I saw you…”

“I get it,” Skye said. “I’m the one at the other end of your sniper rifle.”

His eyebrows were knit together in a way that told her there was nothing else to say.

“It was nice knowing you Grant Ward.” She gave him a mock salute. The gesture already felt tired. 

He didn’t like it. Grant Ward was strong. Grant Ward was skilled. Grant Ward did not know how to proceed. He should have just turned the knob and been off. He should have just left her in there with his dog and never looked back. 

He couldn’t do that to Yuri. And Skye… hurting Skye left a sliver of pain lodged in his chest. He extended his hand, gently brushing the skin of her arm.

“Don’t die out there,” he echoed to her. 

97%. That’s all she could think. This was the last time they could be this way with each other. And she didn’t even know what that way was. She didn’t know anything.

She headed for the door.

“You should stay.”

She paused at his voice.

“You know,” he backpedaled. “While I’m gone. Feel free to stay here.”

“I wish it were that easy,” Skye said. Like he was a prisoner to two agencies, she was a prisoner too. 

“I know it’s not,” Ward said. “We weren’t born for easy.”

“Do you ever think about what it would be like?” Skye asked. “If you never met Garrett.”

“I would be dead,” Ward said instantly. 

“I don’t think that’s true,” Skye said.

He didn’t like that answer. “And if you never met Cal?” 

“I’d be different,” Skye said. “Very different. But I figured things were going okay the way they were.” 

“They _were_ going okay?” He didn’t sound angry. He sounded lost. He sounded as lost as she felt.

“Thanks for the offer.”

Skye finally got her bag over her shoulder. It felt like it was full of boulders. Avoiding his eyes and getting the hell out of there would be the best option. It was her only option.

“Skye.”

If he asked her to stay again, she had no idea what would happen. Before she had figured out how acutely she could figure out vibrations, she was a disaster. This felt like she was fifteen and in front of the Diviner, having no idea why the man that claimed to be her father had hurt her in this way. 

This was a different kind of hurt. 

“If I ever come back,” Ward said, “we should grab a drink some time.”

Everything moved in slow motion. The first time he asked her to go on an assignment with her, they were both drinking. Every time she saw him, she felt like she had taken ten tequila shots. Her heart was threatening to bust from her chest and before she could even understand what she was doing, she had pinned herself to his broad chest, pressed her lips against his for what seemed like a millennia. 

When Skye finally looked away, he looked… She didn’t know how he looked. He was staring down at her, his facial expression almost frozen. She tried stepping out of his paralyzed grasp around her arms.

What she didn’t count on was that it was so very _them_. Neither of them had any idea what was going on. For the first time in his life, Ward had not been able to anticipate what was happening. 

All he knew is that he wanted it. He just had to regain his footing first. He couldn’t let her go. When her back was against the wall, she finally understood completely what was happening. She wrestled his tie from his neck, mussing his hair to look like he did when he was completely himself and not his cover. 

Skye had never dreamed of attempting to get into Grant Ward’s bedroom. He was a spy and she wouldn’t have put it past him to put a shotgun rigged to the door. This wasn’t totally unlike that. This was still explosive. Neither of them had stopped to think why the table was rattling or the windows in their frames. Neither of them stopped to think why this hasn't happened until now. Instead, they just tore off each other's clothes. Instead, they only succumbed.

It was messy and unpracticed and passionate. Not perfect by any means, but somehow, the best they both had had. Somehow. Somehow they both got it right.

Yuri was scratching at the bedroom door but neither of them could hear it until they broke away from each other, breathing heavily. For a long time, there was almost nothing. Maybe hours. Maybe it was only minutes. Skye felt like they were in an old film noir movie where she should be smoking a cigarette, naked in his sheets. Finally, she had to say something. She couldn't stand all this silence. She had never been more scared in her life. 

“When did you know?” Skye asked to the ceiling. Trying seemed futile to her. He was leaving. Most likely for good.

Not that they needed to rush into a relationship or anything. It just seemed sad and pointless. And that made her sad. This was something they had both been feeling. And now she had no idea what to do. She didn’t even think he was really awake. Yet again, he surprised her.

“I don’t know,” Ward whispered to her in the dark. “I was in the middle before I knew I had begun.”

Skye rolled over to face him so she could see if he was serious or not.

Ward shook his head. _Cheesy_.

“Sorry,” he apologized immediately. She probably thought he was so stupid. He couldn’t believe he actually just recited basically poetry to her. Skye would think he was lame. “Just from a book that was on that list from Garrett.” 

He couldn’t really think of why his SO wanted him to read it, now that he thought about it. 

“ _Pride and Prejudice_ ,” Skye said. “I read it in tenth grade.” 

Before she dropped out.

“You remember something from school in tenth grade?” Ward asked, impressed. 

“I don’t know,” Skye said. “I guess it always just kind of stuck with me.”

“Me too.”

He didn’t mention that he was actually in the middle of that book when he first met Skye. That wouldn’t help. Not when they were so precarious.

But even in the dark he could feel her smile and her tenderness all over him. She pressed herself to him and kissed him what felt like a thousand kisses to last him the indefinite time he would be on a plane and had to pretend that he never knew her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapter you have been waiting for! (I hope?) Cheesy, yes. But that's about as fluffy as I get. I also just finished Pride and Prejudice for school and that's been in the brain. Sorry if that was a little out of character but I could not help myself.


	5. Part V

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Hey.” Skye walks towards him, her hands gentle on his face, trying to calm him. His skin was on fire and he couldn’t look at her.
> 
> “What’s wrong with you?” Skye asked, searching his eyes. He tried to twist away. “Your heart is beating a mile a minute.”
> 
> Ward finally succeeded in extricating himself.
> 
> “It’s nothing.” 
> 
> Skye’s eyes were hurt but more than that, they were worried. Concern just wasn’t something he was used to.
> 
> “Someone hurt you,” Skye said. 
> 
> He was the berserker and she was the one that caused quakes. They were exactly the wrong people for each other but they found each other at the exact right time.

There was an incident at the Los Angeles Union Station. That was all that Skye knew. After that, she heard nothing. To her, a secret mobile unit probably meant that travel would be done out of the continental United States. At least, that’s what she hoped. When she walked into her house to find her father in a confab with about eight members that were on SHIELD’s Index, she desperately hoped that Ward was out of the country.

She couldn’t give any logical explanation to why she felt that way. But she was learning to trust her instincts.

“Honey!” Cal exclaimed. “Come meet our new friends!

Cal sounded manic again. The smallest thing could possibly set him off next. She hoped that none of Cal’s new friends had the ability to smell the dog hair on her. 

“Starting a bridge club?” Skye asked dryly. She was too used to Cal’s schemes. Though she had never actually interacted with his fellow schemers before. 

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Cal said brightly. “They’re here to avenge your mother’s death against Hydra.”

“Awesome,” Skye said.

_Of course they are._

* * *

Skye had been afraid of this. It wasn’t something that she had actually envisioned ever coming to fruition, but she had always been aware of the threat that her life as she knew it would come crashing down around her. It wasn’t that she was particularly attached to Hydra. She could find work anywhere and had been since she dropped out of high school. The problem was that she had become somewhat attached to a soldier for Hydra, something she had neglected to tell her father.

She also happened to neglect to tell Ward her mother’s attachment to Hydra. It never really seemed to come up, or be any of his business anyway. Then he left for his mobile unit and it was starting to weigh heavily on her conscience.

Cal confided her in a small corner of the room, away from the Gifted Party. “You seem down, sweetie.”

“Confused, more like,” Skye said. “We had a pretty good thing going here.”

“You can always freelance,” Cal said. “There will always be someone looking for talented young people like you.”

Cal’s face spontaneously grew darker.

“I would have that you would be with me on this.”

“On what?” Skye asked. “I don’t even know what’s happening.”

“Your mother,” Cal said as though that explained everything. “She deserves justice.”

“And what does that mean for us?” Skye asked. “Do you have a vendetta against the entire organization, or someone in particular?” 

“I don’t believe what I’m hearing,” Cal said. “Hydra is responsibly for butchering your mother.”

“I remember.”

“You’re acting very blasé about this.” 

“I just think you need some direction,” Skye said. “This seems like a half-baked plan. Or a no-baked plan.”

“All this talk of _my_ plan,” Cal said. “ _My_ vendetta. Our allegiance to Hydra was a means to an end. We talked about this. What’s going on here?”

“Nothing’s going on,” Skye said. “But we’re just two people.”

“And the Index.”

“And the Index,” Skye said. “Hydra is deeply embedded into one of the most secretive and dangerous spy agency in the world. How do you propose you do this?”

“We start by crippling their efforts,” Cal said. “We start with one of their most formidable soldiers. Grant Ward. You remember him, don’t you?” 

“Vaguely.”

“Then it’s simple,” Cal said. “You kill him.”

* * *

Ward could still feel the rage beating in his veins. He envied May and her cool and collected control. Ward thought he had control. If Skye were here, she would throw him some Freud reference about repressing memories. He tried not to think about her too much. After seeing her consistently since he saw her broken body, this separation was something he had not prepared himself for. A part of him had even tried to fool himself into thinking that it would all be fine.

But holding the berserker staff and remembering everything he tried to forget on top of worrying about her was a combination he did not relish. It was almost as if he could smell the perfume she sometimes wore at the base of her throat. 

The dry whisky wasn’t helping like he thought it would. He took another gulp and tried to remember the burn down his throat. He thought he saw May go upstairs a whole bottle ago. But something was keeping him in the bar of the hotel. 

It would be easier to fade into unconsciousness, but he wasn’t that person. He couldn’t be that person on Coulson’s team. He was a by-the-book, straight edge specialist and that’s all he ever could be. He would never be a brother, a friend, a boyfriend. Dwelling on it wasn’t help anything, not even himself. Across the room he was sure he heard Fitz knocking into someone and murmuring anxious apologies.

Another swig and Ward would be ready to go upstairs. He savored these moments he had to himself where he didn’t have to pretend or lie. He never had to pretend with Skye.

Thinking about her wasn’t helping, remember? 

It didn’t work. The liquid in his glass started vibrating like there was a dinosaur clomping around in Jurassic Park and the seat next to him scraped. He didn’t have to look up to know it was her. It was a strange feeling, the paralyzing dread of knowing that she was endangering them both combating with the ecstatic feeling of excitement.

“Not something I’m used to,” Skye said. “Little mints on your pillow.”

She wasn’t looking at him. She was watching his reflection in the mirror behind the bar. He would have been proud of she wasn’t being so reckless. She wasn’t watching just him, but the entire room. Just like he taught her. Trying to see all the angles. He didn’t know how to respond.

“Overnights aren’t standard,” Ward said.

No matter how inappropriate it was that she was here, he couldn’t help but be offended that she was accusing him of living in the lap of luxury with SHIELD.

“What are you doing?” he followed under his breath, following her lead and pretending not to talk to her. The berserker staff’s effects were still in his system and he didn’t want to take that out on her. He knew enough to be aware of it. But he couldn’t help the burning rage of her indiscretion.

Her eyes were sharp in the mirror. She could hear the slashing and biting tone of his words and she didn’t like it. He didn’t like it any more than she did. He took a deep breath, trying to keep his heart rate down.

“I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t important,” Skye said.

“Whatever happened last time we saw each other—" 

“God is this not about that,” Skye cut him off. She sounded insulted that he would insinuate she was here because of what happened when they last saw each other. “We need to have a serious discussion.”

“We need to seriously discuss you not being here,” Ward said.

“I wish I wasn’t,” Skye said. “Believe me.” 

Her hand palmed his jacket and before he could stop her she had slipped off the stool, his room key in hand. 

“Meet me in your room.” And then she was gone.

* * *

Ward knocked on his own hotel room door. This was definitely not protocol, but Skye had never been one for that anyway. The door whipped open and closed quickly, allowing him to slip inside before she was seen.

Ward could finally get a good look at her. She was pacing the room, her hands on her hips. She looked tired, her hair pulled back in her street clothes like she had been on a fourteen-hour plane ride. She had been, and she clearly came straight here.

“Do you have any idea—“ Ward started. He could never finish a sentence. 

“Don’t talk to me like that,” Skye said. “Ever.”

Her eyes were just as wild as his. There was an atmosphere in that room that was completely foreign to the both of them. They had never been truly livid at each other before. Not like this. 

“You think I don’t know that I’m risking both of our lives?” Skye asked.

“Then why are you here?”

“Trying to save your life,” Skye tossed back shortly. Ward realized he was breathing heavily again. He had to regulate his pulse but he couldn’t do that with her here.

“Oh yeah?” Ward snapped. “Explain that to me.” 

His breathing was going down. Skye stopped her pacing for a moment, looking at him. Her eyes turned from curiosity to worry. He knew that she could tell something was wrong.

“Hey.” Skye walked towards him, her hands gentle on his face, trying to calm him. His skin was on fire and he couldn’t look at her.

“What’s wrong with you?” Skye asked, searching his eyes. He tried to twist away. “Your heart is beating a mile a minute.”

Ward finally succeeded in extricating himself.

“It’s nothing.” 

Skye’s eyes were hurt but more than that, they were worried. Concern just wasn’t something he was used to.

“Someone hurt you,” Skye said. 

He was the berserker and she was the one that caused quakes. They were exactly the wrong people for each other but they found each other at the exact right time.

“Grant,” Skye said softly. He leaned closer to her unconsciously. “I never wanted to come here. But I didn’t know what else to do.”

“About what?”

“Killing you.”

He didn’t interrupt, he just looked at her. 

“I should have told you,” Skye said. “I screwed up.”

“Told me what?”

“About my father,” Skye said. “It wasn’t an accident he got me recruited for Hydra. He planned it all. So he could find the man that murdered my mother.”

“How does that involve me?”

“It sends a message,” Skye said. “And he wanted me to do it.”

“Are you going to?” Ward asked.

Skye sat on the bed, guiding him with her.

“Are you really asking me that?” Skye asked.

“I want to hear your answer,” Ward said. “Whatever it is.”

“If I wanted to kill you, I never would have made contact with you,” Skye said. “Maybe I should have done you a favor. You’d be dead with an untarnished record. A SHIELD hero and martyr. You’d get a little star on the wall.”

“Trying to save me?” Ward asked, his smirk threatening to spread to his face. 

“Now we could both be discovered,” Skye said, not able to let go the seriousness of the situation. This would be the first time she was the one refusing to joke.

“And you came anyway.”

“I had to,” Skye said. “Cal found your coordinates. I’m here on an assassination mission.”

“And now?”

“And now I don’t know what to do.”

“You survive,” he said. “That’s what you do.”

“What about you?” she asked.

“I do what I’ve always done,” he answered.

Skye eased a hand on his shoulder. It was still burning right through his shirt. Skye stood up. The longer she stayed here, the more likely it was that he would be discovered. Ward grabbed her hand. His skin was still hot, but it felt comforting now. His chest was heaving and suddenly she felt heady. 

“You should have just killed me,” Ward said.

“What happened?” Skye asked. She could feel his heat and it was overwhelming. And no way would she ever entertain the idea of killing Grant Ward.

“Something got to me,” Ward said. “Something that I haven’t thought about in a long time.”

“Your family,” Skye said.

“I’ve done things.” 

“Just because you’ve done bad things doesn’t mean you’re a bad person,” Skye said. “We’ve all been there. But I’m here.” Her fingers gripped his chin. “You’re not a bad guy, Grant.” 

The room began to shake but it wasn’t because Skye was angry. She hadn’t lost control in a long time, but this was different. His lips were hot and furious against her that she almost lost her balance. This was different than before. This was a slow burn instead of the fast and messy action of before he left.

Skye knew it was in both of their interests to leave. But she just couldn’t help herself. Most of their clothes didn’t even end up coming off. Her fingers searched beneath his shirt and scratched at the skin of his back, opting for the floor instead of the bed that they had been sitting on.

Opting insinuated that there was a choice in all of this. There wasn’t. Like an earthquake itself, it was sudden, vicious, and left aftershocks reverberating through the both of them.

* * *

" _My older brother. He didn’t beat up my younger brother. He was crueler than that. He made me do it. And I let him. I was afraid of him.”_

_“What about your parents?”_

_“They were worse.”_  

Ward woke up with a start. For a moment he was breathless, being water boarded by SHIELD after they found him out. That dream was after the real memory of telling Skye everything. That was it. There was no coming back from that. He was letting her in. and even if he could take it back, he wasn’t sure if he wanted to.

The sun hadn’t even risen yet. It was four in the morning and Skye was putting her jacket on. He caught her wrist.

“Sorry about the room.” Her voice was hushed even though no one could hear them. Sure enough glasses from the minibar were shattered. Tables were overturned and it looked like his suitcase had popped open. “Are you okay?”

“I’m glad you came,” Ward said. 

“I know I can’t stay,” Skye said. 

“What about your father?” Ward asked. 

“I’ll survive,” Skye said. "Remember?"

He kissed her hard on the mouth, letting her slip through his fingers once again.


	6. Part VI

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Whenever she was anxious or angry, it amplified her power. She had never been in a standoff like this before. She had never felt the quake lift her off her feet before. 
> 
> Cars and bodies flew away from her like a giant force field was hitting them. But they weren’t the only ones. The tremor backfired, hitting Skye squarely in the chest.
> 
> Before she hit the ground, all she remembered was thinking that her name wasn’t Quake and this must be what is was like to fly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The reaction to the last chapter has been so great. Thanks to all who reviewed and those of you who read silently.

“Who’s the girl?”

Melinda May shut the door to Coulson’s office quietly. They had yet to have wheels up. This was more pertinent. Ward hadn’t even made it to the bus yet, but she had an idea why. That wasn’t really the issue. SHIELD dealt in secrets. It was their trade. But something about this didn’t feel right to her. May handed Coulson the tablet with the frame frozen on it on it.

“Which way am I even supposed to hold this?” Coulson asked, squinting at the blurry photo. 

“It’s not that bad,” May retorted. She was not in the mood for Coulson’s attempt at comedy.

“Where’d you get this again?”

“CCTV.”

“And… why?” Coulson asked.

“Look at the picture." 

Coulson squinted at the black and white still from the hotel bar and sighed. “Why are you checking up on other agents?”

“So you do see that’s Ward,” May said. 

“I see,” Coulson said. “I see that he’s talking to a girl.”

“Trying not to look like he’s talking to a girl,” May corrected. “And he’s passing her something.”

“What are you thinking?” Coulson asked, his stern demeanor thankfully returning. “Double agent?” 

“It certainly looks like he’s giving her some sort of information.”

“Did you run it through the database?”

“I wanted to check with you first,” May replied.

“How considerate,” Coulson said, his playful smile returning. 

May took back the tablet and put it through the program she had ready.

“What’s the theory?” Coulson asked.

“What theory?” 

“If Ward is a double agent and is passing information to this girl,” Coulson said, “a pretty girl at that –“

“I get it,” May replied. 

“-Then who is he double crossing us for?” 

“Centipede comes to mind,” May said.

“It doesn’t fit,” Coulson said. “Ward is as straight as you can get. What would he have to gain from special power hoarders?”

“What about that hacker Miles Lydon,” May offered. “He was just doing research. Stupid research that he didn’t understand, but still research.”

“You really think you’re on the right track?” Coulson asked.

“Don’t let your personal feelings get in the way,” May said. “You never know who you’re dealing with.”

“Funny, I was going to say the same thing to you,” Coulson replied. 

“When have I ever let personal feelings get in the way?” 

“Your husband comes to mind.” 

“That was an isolated incident.” 

“And your dislike for Ward is making you turn him in,” Coulson said.

“I don’t dislike him,” May said. 

“You’re just too similar,” Coulson finished. “I get it. 

“That’s not it.”

“Any luck?”

May looked down as the girl’s face was run through the recognition software.

“SHIELD has not interacted with this girl once,” May said, disappointed though not enough to show it. “No priors, not even on the Index.”

“You think she could be?”

“Centipede isn’t the only corporation out there,” May said.

“It’s a key card.” 

“What?” 

“What she takes from his jacket pocket,” Coulson said. “He’s giving her the key to his hotel room.”

May narrowed her eyes at the picture. 

“The first time he’s not on a plane, can you really blame him?” Coulson asked. "Hotel in Europe. Pretty girl."

“You didn’t think about mentioning your suspicions?” May asked.

“More fun that way,” Coulson said. “Try not to think about it too much, May. We have a lot of more dangerous things to deal with than Grant Ward.”

May nodded and left the tablet, closing the door of Coulson’s office behind her. A part of her wished that she could just believe him.

* * *

Skye unlocked Ward’s apartment door and was immediately met by the wet onslaught of kisses from Yuri. Skye had first asked why Ward had named his American Staffordshire terrier guard dog after his contact from Georgia. Apparently soviets named dogs after themselves. Yuri was a gift after Ward did him a favor.

For Ward, it was just that simple. Yuri looked like a pit-bull that Ward argued was an unfair judgment on the breed. Pit-bulls only had a bad reputation because their owners would breed them in dogfights.

Yuri had been wary of Skye at first – a similar character trait from his first master, she had been told - but taken a liking to her just as his current master had. Now he ran up to her and licked her face as she scratched him behind his ears.

Ward had been MIA for awhile and she hadn’t expected him to be at his place. This was only for when he wasn’t on assignment. He rarely had time to kill, unlike her who was quite frequently between jobs. 

Ward didn’t think he would be coopted on an indefinite mission. No one thought that would happen. Least of all Yuri. Skye filled his food bowl and water. She had planned on hooking up the Xbox to the television so she could stream television. Ward rarely had a use for a television, let alone an Xbox. That was something Skye persuaded him to do. Skye never reached it. The moment she heard the first knock on the door, Yuri started growling. Skye found herself frozen, unable to come up with a logical explanation for this. Even if Ward somehow had lost his key, that wouldn’t have stopped him from opening the door. She knew that much.

Yuri’s whines told her than answering the door was a bad idea. What could she say? She had always been a rebel. Skye eased the door open as far as the chain would allow. She peered through the slot where a beautiful middle-aged woman with icy eyes peered back at her.

“Can I help you?” Skye asked.

“We’re looking for a fugitive by the name of Grant Ward,” the woman said. “Does that name mean anything to you?”

So that’s why he had been so quiet. But she knew better than to worry. She knew him better than that.

“Should it?” Skye asked. She knew the drill. 

“You’re in his apartment,” the woman said. Her stoic face betrayed nothing and Skye was beginning to think that opening the door was a bad idea.

“You’re going to need a warrant to come in,” Skye said. “I don’t know anything. I’m just house sitting.”

“Melinda May. Agent of SHIELD.” The second the silver badge was visible through the door, Skye slammed it shut. Yuri began a rampage of barking and Skye took him by the collar, dragging him through the house. 

Not seconds later was the unmistakable sound of the door being kicked in. she would have to pay Ward back for that chain. Without anywhere else to go, Skye ran through the house in her bare feet, barricading herself in the bathroom with the dog and locking the door shut. 

The floorboard in the kitchen had creaked beneath her foot and she cursed herself. She should have gotten the gun before she had even opened the door. When you had super powers, you sort of forgot to be logical sometimes. Yuri had resorted to growling low in his throat as though he knew they were in hiding.

Not that at mattered. It was only a matter of time before they kicked in this door too. She could hear the combat boots of the SHIELD tac team tromping through the apartment. There was only one way to go, despite Yuri’s desperate barks, determined to protect her. That warmed a part of her she didn’t want to address. 

She perched herself on the edge of the bathtub for a few moments, formulating her plan. She really wished she could have grabbed Ward’s favorite sidearm. She knew she couldn’t his things there for the SHIELD agents to seize. And that money would come in handy. But that was about five feet outside the bathroom door. There was no way she was getting to it. There was really only one option, and it made her feel extremely guilty. She really hoped Ward forgave her for this.

Skye bent down and smoothed down Yuri’s ears. “Sorry, buddy.” 

Yuri was not a vicious dog. But Ward was a boy scout. He was always prepared for all possibilities.

Skye whipped open the bathroom door and yelled to Yuri the word Ward had taught her. “ _Perebir_! 

Yuri tore out of the bathroom, snarling and barking at the intruders. She didn’t know how she would explain to Ward that his beloved dog had run away. With the attackers distracted, Skye slipped out the bathroom window, jumping from the ledge onto the fire escape. She had barely descended two ladders when – no joke – a red corvette started _flying_. The middle-aged man in the front seat had his handgun drawn on her. 

Skye put up her hands. How do you fight a flying car? You really can’t. 

“I didn’t know you spoke Ukrainian,” he remarked in a friendly tone. Even though he had a gun pointed at her, she figured they could probably get along if circumstances were different.

“I think it’s pretty obvious I don’t,” Skye said. “I only know that one word. My pronunciation’s terrible.”

“Did Ward tell you that?” 

And in a second, her defenses were up. These people weren’t Hydra. If they were, she’d be dead already. Somehow, this was worse. If they took her, they could do unspeakable things to her. If they knew what she really was. 

“Is he dead?” Skye asked bluntly. She prepared herself for the worst. Now Ward really wouldn’t even get a chance to be mad about the dog, would he?

“We don’t really go in for that sort of thing,” the man said. “Is that what he told you?” 

They were very interested in what Ward had or hadn’t said to her. Agent May said they were looking for him at his apartment but Skye figured that would be the last place he would go. She had a suspicion that they knew that and who they were really looking for was her. 

“He told me to look after his dog,” Skye said.

“Does the dog speak Ukrainian too?” he asked.

“I think his old owner did,” Skye replied. “Are you going to kill me?” 

The man put down the gun. “I told you. We don’t do that. We’re just looking for Ward.”

“You need to know this isn’t the first time someone’s pointed a gun at me.”

“Not if you’re hanging out with Ward.” He sounded bitter. This was personal, she realized. This must be Phil Coulson. Ward always described him as a good man and it made her a little sad. She wondered if that meant he knew who she was. 

“I’m just the dogsitter.” She wasn’t about to give herself up as a gifted. Not unless she really had to. She had heard enough stories. And she wanted to survive long enough to find out if Ward was okay.

“Haven’t you heard?” Coulson asked. “The world ended. Why are you protecting him?”

“I think you overestimate my knowledge,” Skye said.

“You’re not a spy,” Coulson said. “That’s obvious. It makes me wonder.” 

“Maybe I’m not a fancy government agent,” Skye said. “But the way you talk about him, it sounds like he’s still alive. Or at least that’s what you want me to think, for whatever reason.”

“Of course he’s alive,” Coulson said. “Don’t do anything stupid, Daisy. We just want to talk.” 

So Ward hadn’t mentioned her. He didn’t tell them who she was. Not really. Otherwise they wouldn’t be calling her that.

“We want to help you,” Coulson said.

Skye heard tramping on the fire escape and she looked up to see the combat boots of the very serious looking woman from before.

“You’re kind of giving me the impression that I don’t have a choice,” Skye said. She knew what she had to do. 

“Don’t run,” the woman above her warned. 

Not a choice, indeed. 

“Tell Ward I’m sorry about his dog.” 

“Wait—“ Coulson said. The fire escape had already started to shake. May went to her knees, trying to keep herself steady. She tried drawing her gun on Skye but Skye narrowed her eyes and it exploded in May’s hands, sending shards flying everywhere. One knocked and clattered against the corvette. Coulson had to swerve to stop the onslaught of shrapnel, falling several stories.

“Daisy,” Agent May shouted about the sounds of the shaking. “Don’t do this.” 

In answer, Skye kicked down the fire escape, vaulting to the ground in her bare feet.  Coulson landed the car right next to her. Skye raised her hands. 

“I can see why Ward likes you,” Coulson said.

“You don’t really expect me to surrender,” Skye said. 

“That’s why he likes you,” Coulson illuminated. “I wouldn’t count on it. He wouldn’t surrender either.”

“Sorry,” Skye said and ran through the alley.

Sirens from SHIELD SUV’s screamed after her. She wasn’t stupid enough to think she could outrun them. Coulson probably had come to the same conclusion. But he didn’t know her. In the middle of the sidewalk, Skye stopped. She whirled to face the tac team, her hands outstretched. The air rippled from the quake, sending a shockwave through downtown Los Angeles.

“ _Quake_!” Coulson’s voice reverberated towards her but it was too late.

That wasn’t an exaggeration. Whenever she was anxious or angry, it amplified her power. She had never been in a standoff like this before. She had never felt the quake lift her off her feet before. 

Cars and bodies flew away from her like a giant force field was hitting them. But they weren’t the only ones. The tremor backfired, hitting Skye squarely in the chest. Before she hit the ground, all she remembered was thinking that her name wasn’t Quake and this must be what is was like to fly.

* * *

“Her name is Daisy Johnson.”

The briefing room only had four people in it. Fitz asked where Ward was, but the answer to that had gotten a bit complicated after he started open firing at one of the SHIELD hangers.

Coulson, Simmons, and Fitz all stood around the Holotable, looking at May’s presentation. May brought up a picture of a mug shot. A young girl, not even sixteen. It was dated almost ten years ago.

“She goes by Skye among her hacker friends,” May said. “But she also has another alias. Quake.”

“We got that little piece of news right before we apprehended her at Ward’s apartment,” Coulson said, massaging his shoulder. He was hurting and Lola was still in the shop.

May tapped the screen and scans of transfer documents were projected. Documents for weapon registration. Paychecks.

“Quake?” Simmons asked. “As in hired contractor Quake? She was supposed to have started the earthquake in LA a few years ago.” 

“An accident as far as we can tell,” May said. “She doesn’t have too much control of her powers when she’s upset.” 

“That’s for sure,” Coulson muttered. 

“That girl?” Fitz asked. “She’s just a kid.”

“Here’s the most recent photo we could get. At fifteen she was hauled into juvie for petty theft. She’s upgraded since then.” May projected the CCTV picture of the girl taking Ward’s room key. "And here she is now."

“Ward,” Simmons said angrily.

“She wasn’t on The Index?” Fitz asked.

“That’s the funny thing,” Coulson said. “About four years ago SHIELD had intel about a young woman that could start earthquakes. We sent in someone for the intake process to assess whether she was a danger or not. If so, to put her on The Index and protect her from herself and others. Guess who the intake officer was.” 

“Ward,” May clarified.

“He was protecting her,” Fitz said.

“Why would he do that?” Simmons asked savagely. “If anything he was using her to help him in a situation like this.” 

“I’m inclined to believe both are true,” Coulson said. “He kept her a secret for his own uses. But her showing up in Ireland indicates a personal connection.”

“What kind of connection?” Fitz asked.

“Sex,” Coulson said succinctly. "And we can bet the Ward's next move will be to find her."

* * *

Skye woke up slightly bruised in a park with a dog licking her face. The good thing about LA was that no one would look twice at an unconscious girl in a park with no shoes on. Skye opened her eyes, preparing to shove the dog away. Her fingers curled around Yuri’s collar. The dog yelped happily and attempted to cover her in slobber. 

“Good boy,” Skye mumbled, dragging herself to her feet.

It didn’t matter how many minutes, hours, or days had passed. It was clear that Ward was in danger. And she couldn’t be dragging a dog around with what was going on. If only SHIELD had let her turn on the TV she wouldn’t be playing catch-up.

After Skye had put Yuri in a kennel and stolen some shoes from the inside of Laundromat, she paused by an electronics store. In the front window there were multiple flat screens displaying the news. Hydra had come out of the shadows. She should have known. And Ward had been compromised. This didn’t necessarily change anything, just made her plans more urgent.

“Can’t even believe it myself.”

Skye hadn’t noticed a middle aged man in a black turtleneck beside her. She really didn’t feel like getting pulled into a conversation by some street weirdo.

“No kidding,” Skye said before she tried to slip away.

“Not so safe for you out in the open like this,” the man said. Skye tried to figure out how to get rid of him. “Not when we’re finally out of the shadows.”

Skye stopped short. She would in no way would be trusting anyone at this point, even if they did happen to employ her from time to time. But she had to listen what he had to say.

“I’m sure Ward’s told you about me,” the man said.

Skye studied his features. Now that he mentioned it, he had Ward’s disciplined back and… cocky smile?

“Garrett,” Skye said. 

Garrett grinned. She didn’t like it. “Give the girl a new car.”

“Where is he?” Skye asked. “Is he okay?” 

“I was going to ask you the same thing,” Garrett replied. 

“I don’t know,” Skye said. “I haven’t seen him in months. SHIELD knows.” 

“Yes, they do,” Garrett said. “An unfortunate side effect of being a double agent.” 

“And?” Skye asked impatiently. He was being annoyingly cavalier about one of his best assets on the run. “Do you have any leads on him?”

“That’s classified.” Garrett’s smile had turned chilling.

Her instincts told her to run. That’s what Ward would tell her to do. She could almost hear him in her head now. She couldn’t lose control. Not now. 

“You know a lot of people saw that stunt of yours yesterday,” Garrett said. “Shone a lot of lights on places that weren’t ready for it.”

“They were going to take me in,” Skye said, taking a subtle step back. “Cross me off.” 

“It would have been easier if they did.”

Skye lurched away suddenly, hoping to catch him off guard, but Garrett had locked his hands over both her wrists.

“Easier for me, at least,” Garrett laughed coldly. Skye barely heard the shots. Ward hadn’t gotten around to showing her the silencer yet. But she was pretty sure that’s what it was.

Not that identifying it was a particular priority at the moment, 

“Sorry, kid,” Garrett said, letting go of her. “You’re a liability. It’s nothing personal.”

Garrett melted into the crowd before she even realized she was bleeding. She fell to the ground holding her guts in, trying not to think of Garrett’s last words to her.

“I can see why he’s so attached to you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A wild SHIELD team appears! Yes, they are here. Though not as prominent as other characters, they are important. Very plotty, I admit, but necessary. This chapter had to be cut in half so there's no Ward. But he will be making an appearance in the next chapter, worry not.
> 
> Also, I do not speak Ukrainian so I apologize for it not being accurate or anything like that.


	7. Part VII

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “God knows why you’d want to stay. I must look terrible. The nurse won’t bring me a mirror.”
> 
> “I’ve seen worse.” Typical Ward. 
> 
> Even his hard exterior made her smile. As always. “Wow, thanks.”
> 
> “Skye,” Ward trailed, not meeting her eyes. He was nervous for some reason. It wasn’t like she was asking him to propose. “You know it’s great to see you. Better.” 
> 
> The man was never very good at expressing his feelings. Then again, neither was she.
> 
> “What a charmer,” Skye said. 
> 
> A smile spread across his face like an infection. “I am a world-class spy, you know.”

“A Daisy Johnson was admitted to a Sacramento ER a few hours ago,” May reported.

Coulson frowned at the report. “I’m sure there are millions of Daisy Johnson’s in the world." 

“She had two gunshot wounds to the torso,” May said. “Close range. And no one seems to know who did it.” 

“That would explain why her real name was used,” Coulson said. “Someone probably found her ID. You think Ward did it.”

“Hold on,” Fitz interjected who, along with Simmons, had been quiet up until that moment. “If he has a relationship with her why would he kill her?” 

“Ward is a cold blooded killer,” May said, “trained for years in executions. This is his MO.”

“Not if he loves her,” Fitz muttered. 

“Oh, Fitz,” was all Simmons could say in scolding.

“Skye has become a liability,” May said. “It’s as simple as that. For whoever Ward answers to, whatever sexual history that they shared does not matter.” 

“Why is she a liability?” Fitz asked. 

“She knows too much,” May answered simply. “And believe me if she’s not dead already, she will be.”

* * *

Ward pulled his Boston Red Sox hat harder over his eyes. It was true, Boston might make him more noticeable in California, but he knew exactly where they put those cameras in hospitals. It was the only hat he could find on such short notice.

He rounded the corner to the receptionist. “Trauma?” He did his best to flash his grin. She didn’t look flustered but pointed the way. 

He was off his game.

The plaque outside her room read “Johnson, Daisy.” His heart sank. This was not good. Not only was Skye in intensive care, but she must have been unconscious when they brought her in. She never would have given her legal name. Not if she could help it. Now it was only a matter of time before they were found 

There was a guard posted outside her door. “I’m sorry, sir, but you can’t go in there.”

Ward disregarded the officer completely. He could have made quick work of him easily. But if they could get out of here without attention, that would be preferable.

“I’m family,” Ward said and walked right past him. He had learned as his years as a specialist that if you pretended you belonged somewhere, people would usually believe you.

Ward eased into the room and closed the door behind him. Skye was hooked up to machines helping her breathe, filtering her blood. He had never felt sick on a job before. Then again, she had never been a job to him. 

Ward pulled a chair next to the bed, sitting down. He took her hand. It was ice. He rubbed circles into her skin, encouraging circulation. He knew he couldn’t wait here. He knew he couldn’t stay unless he wanted to get caught. 

But he couldn’t leave her here, defenseless. More assassins would be coming for her. He was sure of it. Hydra and SHIELD alike. Running on three days without sleep, he succumbed to unconsciousness before he could make a decision. 

“ _Hey_.”

Ward wrenched himself from sleep, reaching instinctively for the gun tucked into the waistband of his jeans. He looked around wildly, but there was only Skye smiling at him. 

His heart settled in his chest. He rubbed his face, scruff from the last few days itching his hand.

“Fancy meeting you here,” Skye said. As pale as she looked, she could still tease him. That made him relieved. She could be blasé for the both of them. He could never really settle when he knew what was coming. She should too. But she only smiled.

Ward clenched the hand that had found hers in his sleep. He was sure he was sweating but she didn’t seem to mind.

He couldn’t think of the last time he had embraced Skye. The night in the hotel in Ireland came to mind, but that was rushed and passionate. The truth was, he had missed her and her warmth. Physical and emotional. His arms surrounded her, gentle enough not to disturb her wiring. She returned his pressure and for a moment, he could forget. 

“And you’re usually so talkative,” Skye remarked. 

Ward pulled away. “This isn’t funny.” His hand was still on hers.

“Well I’d laugh but they just did pull some bullets from my abdomen so it’s a little painful.”

Ward took off his cap to run his fingers through his hair and put it back on. 

“Thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule to come visit me,” Skye said. “Is the guard outside still alive?”

“He’s alive.”

Skye squeezed Ward’s fingers. “You know you can’t stay here.” 

“Ready to go whenever you are.”

When she didn’t answer, he felt queasy. Those soulful eyes of hers just stared at him. She squeezed his hand again.

“Skye,” Ward said. “They sent trained killers after you. Don’t think that they won’t finish the job because they will.”

“Ward,” Skye said. “You know it wasn’t just any trained killers.”

Ward’s jaw was tight. 

“You know who it was.” 

“Hydra is a big organization,” Ward remarked. 

“It was Garrett,” Skye said. “He told me. I guess I should be flattered.” 

“ _How_?” Ward’s façade was cracking. His love for his mentor was breaking down. She could see that. She just couldn’t see why. She couldn’t make assumptions at this stage. 

“The Big Kahuna himself came out to kill me,” Skye said. “I must be important.” 

“You are important,” Ward said. “You’re the most important.” 

“Too bad the paramedics got there first,” Skye said, ignoring his comment. 

It wasn’t really enough to tell her what she wanted to know. Ward loved his mentor. It was clear he was struggling with that. But whether she was important to him or not, she just wasn’t sure if she measured up to years of being indoctrinated into Hydra. 

One thing was for sure. She wasn’t expecting _this_. She and Ward had kissed on multiple occasions but that usually worked in conjunction with being naked. This time, it had taken her aback. She was frail and pasty in a hospital bed and Ward leaned in and kissed her. His hand cupped her face gently, but his lips told a different story. His scruff scratched against her face. 

“The paramedics won’t make it in time to save Garrett,” Ward said when he pulled away. 

She wanted to hate how that made her heart flutter. She didn’t.

“Why?” Skye asked. “This is the business, right?” 

“No,” Ward said. “This isn’t business. You aren’t business.”

“He raised you,” Skye said. She couldn’t accept that it would be this easy. That he would just side with her over years of a family bond. 

“He raised me up,” Ward said. “But he molded me into the person he wanted. And he tried to kill you.” 

“Three strikes,” Skye said.

“I don’t know what I am without him,” Ward said, looking away for a moment. Skye wouldn’t let him do that to himself.

“You’ll figure it out,” Skye said. “You’re Grant. And that’s all that matters.” 

His hand curled around her fingers gently. She squeezed back. 

“You know you can’t stay here,” Skye said. “They’ll look for you here.”

“Then let’s go,” Ward said. But he knew he would get the same response as before. She wasn’t coming with him.

“You know I’m not in any condition to be on the lam right now,” Skye said. She smiled encouragingly. “God knows why you’d want to stay. I must look terrible. The nurse won’t bring me a mirror.”

“I’ve seen worse.” Typical Ward. 

Even his hard exterior made her smile. As always. “Wow, thanks.”

“Skye,” Ward trailed, not meeting her eyes. He was nervous for some reason. It wasn’t like she was asking him to propose. “You know it’s great to see you. Better.” 

The man was never very good at expressing his feelings. Then again, neither was she.

“What a charmer,” Skye said. 

A smile spread across his face like an infection. “I am a world-class spy, you know.”

“Oh, is it world-class now?” Skye teased. 

“Got your attention, didn’t it?” 

Sometimes she could forget. That it was his job to seduce ambassadors and soviet spies. But when they were together, something was different. They were different. They weren’t the cold assassins they were raised as. They were something gentler. Something more pure. 

“Yeah, well, I’m shallow,” Skye remarked.

“Lucky me.” Ward gazed at her.

“Lucky you.”

Agent May had impeccable timing. Skye had to give her that much. The door of the room burst open and Ward was already on his feet, gun pointed at the door as though he had been expecting visitors. 

May wasn’t alone. Coulson was right behind her. “Out of the shadows, right Ward?”

“Step away from the girl, Ward,” May said. “Let her go.”

Ward’s hand was on Skye’s shoulder and it took both of them a minute to realize what it looked like.

“I could just shoot her where she is,” Ward said. “Then what would you do?”

“Probable cause to open fire,” May said bluntly. 

“Too bad I won’t give you the chance,” Ward answered. 

“How do you expect to get out of here?” May asked. “You’re good, but you’re not that good.”

“I know I’m not,” Ward said. “But she is.” 

He looked down at her. One last glance. She smiled back at him, receiving his quiet message. On cue, the room began to shake. May’s gun was kept intact this time but Ward was still able to use the quake as a diversion. He squeezed Skye’s hand one last time before bursting out the window of the two-story room. 

If he hasn’t dislocated his shoulder, he might have made it out.

* * *

When Skye walked out of the hospital, it was in shambles. The guard posted outside her door had his jugular severed. She knew enough to not be afraid. That wasn’t Hydra. That was pure Cal.

Nurses were treating interns’ wounds. Receptionists were blotting blood and dirt from their faces. Only a 4.5 on the Richter scale. Not too much. Skye walked past them all in her hospital gown, untouched, clean, and safe.

Her father was waiting with the car outside. He embraced her fiercely. She patted his back and they separated again. 

“Hydra won’t be looking for you after that,” Cal said as he sped down the highway.

“They’re smart enough to know that didn’t kill me.” 

“They won’t risk themselves out in the open,” Cal said. “Now especially that Grant Ward’s been apprehended.” 

“What?”

Back in the hospital room, May had to make a choice. Skye was a definite risk, but Ward was more than wanted. Letting Ward go would have been a massive failing on SHIELD’s part. They both knew it. 

Skye just didn’t think that Agent May had been successful. By the time the hospital came down with tremors, all the lines had been severed and there was no communication to the outside world. Her father knew what to look for so he found Skye quickly. But she still had a hit on her. And Ward was nowhere to be found. 

“They found out he was a double,” Cal said. “Some meaningless political machinations. He’s gone.” 

_Gone_. That couldn’t be it. She had known him practically her entire adult life. _Gone_ wasn’t part of the picture. 

“We have to fortify ourselves,” Cal said. “We always knew Hydra would be short-term. We just didn’t know how.”

Not only had Hydra been short-term for her. It was short-term for Ward. He couldn’t come to that conclusion with her help. He had to do it on his own. But there was one thing for sure. Ward wasn’t _gone_ gone.

Ward was alive. He was being kept somewhere, tortured, his life prolonged until he gave them information. The more he kept quiet, the longer he would live. That was how it worked.

She just hoped she could get there in time. Ward wouldn’t break. That wasn’t who he was. But SHIELD had just discovered that Hydra had been hiding in the shadows all this time. There was no telling what they would do.


	8. Part VIII

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Are you here to kill me?” Ward’s voice was still slightly raspy, but healing. It made for a startling and frightening display. Fitz didn’t want to be afraid. Somehow, Ward’s question made it a little better. 
> 
> “No,” Fitz said. “They wouldn’t send me in here for that.”
> 
> “Well at the next board meeting would you mind bringing it up?” Ward asked. “I’d rather get this show on the road."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, the response to the last chapter has been amazing. Thank you all for reading and all of your feedback!

By the time Ward had tracked down Garrett, he had come to the conclusion that he had broken something. Falling out of that window had not been fun but the adrenaline had gotten him through most of it. When Ward entered the Hydra base, adrenaline was instantly replaced by fear. He was almost certain that his shoulder was dislocated. He came upon this realization when he tried to raise his gun to Garrett. 

In typical Garrett fashion, he only laughed. “Thought they got you, kid.” 

“Not yet,” Ward growled.

“Put that thing down,” Garrett said. He didn’t have to tell Ward twice. He couldn’t support his arm and the gun even if he tried. “I heard you ran into some trouble.”

“Glad to see you care,” Ward said, mustering up the strength to pull the trigger.

He had been warring with himself the entire way there. But now that he was actually facing the man, he knew there was only one option. Ward knew who his family was. There was no other choice. 

“Of course I care,” Garrett said. “You’re one of my best soldiers.” Ward had learned to take those typical condescending remarks in stride.

“And Skye?”

“Who?” Garrett poured himself a brandy.

“ _Skye_ ,” Ward said. He didn’t want to give Garrett the satisfaction. But there was only one name that Garrett knew. “Quake.”

“Oh, the girl,” Garrett said knowingly. He offered Ward a drink. Ward shook his head firmly. “That’s the first time you refused a drink after a job.” 

“Job’s not over yet.” 

“Well I wouldn’t say the fight at overtaking SHIELD is completely over, but your work is done,” Garrett said. “You’ve been made. Might as well kick your heels back and watch the show.” 

It appealed to Ward. It appealed to him very much. That was all he knew. That was everything he had learned. In one gesture, he could accept Garrett’s drink and all the fighting would be over. All the pain and effort would be done.

“As far as the girl goes,” Garrett continued, “don’t worry yourself. She’s as good as dead.” 

“She’s alive,” Ward said. “In the hospital.” 

“For now,” Garrett said. “Is that what this is really about? Some schoolyard crush?” 

“This is about you and me,” Ward said.

“Oh yeah?” Garrett asked. “What stock do you have in some assassin for hire? She got chatty. She was talking with SHIELD.” 

“SHIELD cornered her,” Ward said. “Because of me.”

“Is that what she said?” Garrett asked. “Who are you going to believe? That girl, she’s a weakness Ward. I told you that. I'm the one that raised you to be a man. Even though you haven't taken a lot of my lessons to heart.” 

“You’re right,” Ward said. “There are a lot of things you taught me.”

“Glad to hear it,” Garrett said, turning to refill his glass. 

Ward’s arm screamed as he lifted the gun to his full height.

“Never turn your back on your enemy,” Ward said, putting one in the back of Garrett’s head. “You taught me that.” 

The only family he had was the person he had last seen with two bullets in the stomach. Ward would let SHIELD reset his shoulder after they got there in in the next two minutes.

* * *

Fitz peered around the corner. It had taken a week of monitoring the guard outside Ward’s cell to figure out exactly how to get him alone. Now that he was here, he wasn’t sure if he could do it. The shield separating him from Ward was opaque. One swipe and he would be able to see the person he thought was a friend, the person that had betrayed them all. One swipe, and he could give himself courage.

The tablet vibrated in his hands, almost urging him to look through that wall. He shouldn’t have been so worried. His finger hit the tablet revealing Ward to be unconscious. Though the middle of the day, Fitz could understand the confusion. With no windows or natural light of any kind, Ward would have no way of knowing what the time of day was, besides meals. If the protein supplements they gave him even counted.

Jemma didn’t seem to mind even though it was technically her who had to take care of him if and when he got sick. Which had been a lot lately. Jemma shrugged with a simple, “stress.” Stress was for sure. Fitz hadn’t been around but he was pretty sure Ward’s fractured larynx wasn’t from singing too hard. 

“Are you here to kill me?” Ward’s voice was still slightly raspy, but healing. It made for a startling and frightening display. Fitz didn’t want to be afraid. Somehow, Ward’s question made it a little better. 

“No,” Fitz said. “They wouldn’t send me in here for that.”

“Well at the next board meeting would you mind bringing it up?” Ward asked. “I’d rather get this show on the road than drag it out.”

Ward had always seemed like he would go out in a blaze of gunfire in the field. Fitz couldn’t help but think this was a downgrade. He also couldn’t really remember a time when Ward had made a sarcastic joke like that. Then again, the Ward he thought he knew wasn’t really Ward, was he?

“Is Skye here?” 

His voice was softer, tenderer if it weren’t for the scraping tenor of his voice.

“Skye?” Fitz asked. He tried to recall the name.

Maybe Ward had been so heavily sedated he was delusional. Then Fitz remembered.

“You mean Daisy.” He had been trying to track her IP address but it had been all over the place in the last month. He had to say he was impressed that she could even fool him. She was good. He had to give her that.

“Don’t call her that,” Ward said sharply.

It was the first sign of real rage Fitz had seen in awhile in it made him take a step back. Ward seemed to realize this. He struggled in his bed but his limbs were too heavy for him. Probably from the atrophy. Fitz had wanted to bring it up to Jemma but he doubted that would go over well.

“That’s not her name,” Ward said, gentler this time.

“Why Skye?” Fitz asked. He was curious by nature. He couldn’t help himself.

“I never asked,” Ward answered. “It’s just the name she gave me when we met.”

“When was that?” Fitz asked.

Ward’s eyes were dark and penetrating. It should have made Fitz want to run in the other direction yet again. “Why are you asking me this?”

“I just want to know the truth.” 

“You want the truth you think I have,” Ward said. “Fitz, I am not a good man.”

“But you weren’t using her,” Fitz said. “Were you?” 

“Is that what they think?” 

“That’s what May said,” Fitz said. “Skye was just a manipulated weapon.”

“She was.”

Fitz’s heart sank.

“I put my trust in someone I shouldn’t have,” Ward said. “And they tried to kill her. She could be dead for all I know.”

“She isn’t,” Fitz said. “She’s been bloody hard to keep track of, but she’s alive.” 

Fitz knew the type of smile that spread across Ward’s face. He knew it so well in his heart that he wished he didn’t.

“I met her four years ago,” Ward said. “It was too late for her. For the both of us. But my feelings for her are real. They always have been.”

Fitz smiled. 

“Is that what you wanted to hear?”

Fitz didn’t know how to answer that one. 

“Is she really alive?” Ward asked. “False information can be an interrogation technique.” 

“I’m not an interrogator,” Fitz said. “I just choose to believe you had your reasons.”

* * *

The Index was not something that Skye had pursued before. Quite honestly, since the first moment Agent Ward came into her life spinning her tales of the evil government people, it was the one thing that scared her.

Desperate times. 

Now she knew it was her only option. Times had become so desperate for her, she had forgotten to even tell Cal. This only occurred to her before he burst through her motel room door. She reached for her assault rifle so fast she didn’t even notice the glass in the windowpanes begin to tremble.

“Oh,” Skye said. “It’s you.” She put down the gun.

“Stocking up for a war?” Cal asked, inspecting the windows that had since calmed down after Skye had been startled.

“Haven’t you heard?” Skye asked. “I’m on Hydra’s hit list.”

“Not just you, sweetie.” He used endearments like that to keep her closer. The sad thing was, she was sure he really meant it. But Skye had learned long ago caring about something and losing it was worse than not caring about anything at all. She should have remembered that when she met Ward.

She didn’t.

“They’re after us all now,” Cal finished.

“You didn’t do anything.” 

“Let’s have a family meeting,” Cal said. Skye resisted the urge to roll her eyes. “Families don’t keep secrets.”

“Okay.” 

“And I have a feeling that there’s something you’re not telling me,” Cal hinted.

“Sounds like you already know what that is.” 

“Your rise to the top of Hydra’s enemy list wouldn’t have anything to do with the assassination of John Garrett, would it?”

“Plausible deniability,” Skye said. The fact of the matter was, she hadn’t even heard that Garrett was dead. All she knew was that SHIELD had taken Ward.

“You think I’m working for them?” Cal said. “I’m your father.” 

“You’re the guy that picked me up off the street and gave a roof over my head,” Skye said. “I’m not ignorant to that. But you’re also the guy that made me a freak and never asked if I was okay with that.”

“You adjusted fine.”

“Yeah,” Skye said. “Now I’m fine. I was fourteen then.”

“We’ll get through this,” Cal said. 

“You can get through with whatever you want,” Skye said. “But I need your contacts on The Index. Are you going to help me or not?”

“What do you need contacts for?” Cal asked. “You’re not seriously thinking of cutting off the head.”

“Three more grow back in its place,” Skye recited. “I’m not stupid. They’re backup.” 

“For what?” 

“You know I would go and try to break into a SHIELD facility on my own, but I figured they would kind of see Shock Absorber Girl coming.”

“What SHIELD facility?”

“The prison.”

“Daisy,” Cal said, kneeling next to her so they were eye level. He took her hand. “Why would you go and do something so stupid?” 

Skye slid her hand away. “He’s been rotting in there for months. We don’t know if he’s dead.”

“He’s a Hydra agent,” Cal said. “Even if you do get him out, if he hasn’t been tortured to insanity by now, Hydra would kill him on site.”

“That’s why he needs me,” Skye said. “He’s one of us." 

Cal laughed loudly, mania lacing his voice. She had heard that sound many times before, but this was different.

“He is not one of us,” Cal said. “He’s human. A government agent.”

“You’re human,” Skye said. “Whatever little you told me about my mother, she was the special one.”

“You’re right,” Cal sighed. “Your mother was special. And so are you.” 

“That doesn’t mean leaving Ward to the wolves,” Skye said. “He’s helpless in there. Having these powers mean I should use them for something, right?”

“These gifts are your birthright,” Cal said. “You don’t owe him anything.”

“I don’t,” Skye said. “But I want to.” 

“I’m putting my foot down.”

Now _that_ was laughable. She would have laughed, too, if she had it in her. She didn’t have much of anything anymore.

“You’re putting your foot down?” Skye asked. “I’m an adult if you can’t recall. I stopped being a child the moment you threw me into that mist.”

“You have purpose because of the mist,” Cal said. “You’re closer to your mother.” 

“Yeah,” Skye said. “Purpose to save someone who needs my help.” 

“Don’t for one minute think he cares for you,” Cal said. “I am the only one that cares for you. He only used you to get what he wanted. That’s all they ever do. Hydra is evil.”

“I know you had a plan,” Skye said. “I’m sorry that I messed that up for you. Really, I am. My mother deserved better. But I can’t change what happened. I made Hydra come after us. But I don’t think I would change it even if I could.”

“Hydra deserves to be destroyed for what they did to your mother.”

“Ward isn’t Hydra,” Skye said. “He’s just a man.” 

“A weak, sinful, indulgent man.”

“Yes, he’s weak,” Skye said. “Yes he’s killed people. But I’m weak too.”

What she couldn’t bear to tell her father was that maybe they would be better together. Two weak people could better themselves. Together.

“The moment we start putting different values on lives is the moment we’re just as bad as Hydra,” Skye said. “I won’t be used up like they did to her. But I won’t be your puppet anymore either.” 

“Do not compare me to them, Daisy.” She could feel it coming. The tremors in her father’s voice. His rage would soon take over and there would be no hope for the either of them.

She almost wished she could have told her father that her real name was Skye. She let one tear fall as she walked away from the crumbling motel. That was all Cal deserved.

* * *

“When SHIELD finally picked through the rubble, we were able to identify through dental records the body of Cal Zabo.”

Coulson analyzed Ward’s face. As usual, he was disappointed. Ward’s thick brows joined together. Not quite confusion, though not indifference either. Just veiled disappointment.

“I would claim credit, but if you haven’t noticed,” Ward said, “I’ve been locked up here for… Well I don’t actually know how long it’s been. I might be vitamin C deficient.”

“We think you might know who did it,” Coulson said

“If you think I know,” Ward said, “then you must have a hypothesis of your own.”

“We can’t find Daisy Johnson. We couldn’t help but notice you had a connection to her.

“You think Skye assassinated her own father?” Ward asked doubtfully. He would never call her by that alias. 

“She was spotted leaving that building not five minutes after.” 

“No.”

“No?” Coulson asked. “You might be a brainwashed puppet, but that girl seems like she has it more together than you. I can’t say Cal's death is a particular loss." 

“She wouldn’t be so stupid.”

“What’s stupid, Ward?” Coulson asked. “Taking out a known psychopath?”

“Getting _caught_.” Ward remembered Skye’s tentative relationship towards her father. She loved him for the man he represented, not the man he was. But he knew that if she really did kill Cal, she had a reason. But SHIELD was never very understanding of that sort of thing, not matter what Coulson was telling him. It was all a trap. That was obvious. 

“She hasn’t been apprehended as of yet.” 

“And you would think I would give her up,” Ward said.

“We’re trying to protect your so-called friend,” Coulson said. “With us she’ll be safe from Hydra.”

“Safe to cut her open and see how she ticks,” Ward said.

“Is that it?” Coulson asked. “This is some misguided attempt at protecting her?”

“I didn’t exactly walk in here waving the white flag,” Ward said. “You can do whatever it is you want to me. But Skye’s special. She always has been. Nothing you do will ever make me consider self-preservation before her.”

“Why?” Coulson asked. “Just because she’s special, as you say?”

“You know she is.”

Coulson was sure that was the most valuable and truthful information they had gotten from Ward the three months they had him.

“Why’d she kill her father?” 

“Because he wasn’t her father,” Ward answered carefully, though reluctantly. “Not really. He was the guy that pretended they were one big happy family. And he used her up.”

“It’s that simple?” 

“Skye never had the luxury of growing up in a supportive and moralistic environment,” Ward said. “She may be a mercenary, but she’s a good person. She’s the best person there is.”

“I believe it,” Coulson said. “Is this you trying to be a good person?”

“I never said I was good,” Ward said. “But I’m not here to break out if that’s what you’re suggesting.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” Coulson answered. “So can I ask? I couldn't help notice how we found you. And I've been wondering for awhile."

"Garrett," Ward said, knowing where this was going.

"Why did you kill your master?" Coulson asked. "What does a dog do without one?” 

“Cal wasn't the only puppet masker," Ward said. "Skye had to cut her master's strings. I had to cut mine.”


	9. Part IX: The End

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ward held his hand out to her. Her smile was soft and subtle, like the moment where he had first seen her. Trying to act nonchalant in a convenience store. He had made her immediately. A destructive twenty-one year old with a penchant for exasperating him. He never had a chance. Skye’s hand curled around his, squeezing his callused fingers with reassurance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd like to preface by saying that this is the last chapter. I really enjoyed writing this, especially considering that it was only supposed to be a long one-shot initially. Instead, I got sucked in and had fun doing so. This turned out only to be one chapter longer than I thought. I have finally finished a multi-chapter! Thanks so much to everyone who read and reviewed. I hope you like it.

“What’s going on?” As an expert on human behavior, the door to his cell being busted open was a pretty accurate indicator that something was wrong. What Ward couldn’t figure was after May and Coulson had their guns trained on him, why Fitz was hesitating in the background. Something was off.

“How did you do it?” May demanded.

“For once, I can’t claim credit,” Ward said. “Especially when I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“This was you,” May said.

“May,” Coulson reprimanded.

“What happened?” Ward asked.

Coulson cast a look back at Fitz for quick second. Ward didn’t miss the gesture.

“Something went wrong,” Ward said. He was good at problem solving. “You have to think its me, otherwise you don’t have any suspects. Somehow, that’s even more dangerous and worse.”

“You’re behind this,” May said through gritted teeth. 

“I’m _behind_ a laser grid,” Ward corrected. “But whatever you’re referring to, I just don’t have the resources. You made sure of that.”

“You have friends,” Coulson said. “You could have orchestrated this.”

“A spy doesn’t have friends,” Ward said. “He has enemies and he has targets. Friends? Not so much.”

“He didn’t do this,” Fitz piped up. This time both Coulson and May sent him cold looks. This has something to do with him, for sure.

“What happened, Fitz?” Ward asked, addressing someone he had once considered a friend.

Fitz’s eyes were trained on the ground, avoiding his gaze as though Ward could hypnotize him with one look or something.

“Don’t talk to him,” Coulson said.

“I can’t help if I don’t know what’s going on,” Ward said.

“We didn’t come here for your help,” May said. “We came here to execute a traitor.”

“The system was hacked,” Fitz finally said. If there was one thing Ward could note, it was that at the very least, Fitz didn’t want be witness to Ward’s murder. That was something at least.

“You think I did that?” Ward asked. He had many skills – highest marks in espionage since Romanoff – but computer science wasn’t really his speed. 

“Someone with inside information back traced our signal and found our location,” May said. “And somehow was able to hide their identity at the same time. My list of suspects is one.”

“You don’t have to be a traitor,” Ward said. “She just has to be smarter than Fitz.” 

“No one’s smarter than me,” Fitz said, offended.

“She?” May asked.

“Forgive me,” Ward said, holding his hands up to Fitz in apology. “Not smarter. I misspoke. She has to be… a kindred spirit. And she is spirited.” 

“Who is she, Ward?” May asked.

“You know,” Ward said. “Even though you assumed Hydra killed her. That would have been easier for you, wouldn’t it?” 

Almost on cue, the room began to shake.

“Skye,” Fitz said, though it didn’t have to be stated. Ward looked at the ceiling and smiled. 

“Get him out of here,” Coulson said. He grabbed the tablet from Fitz’s shaking hands to lower the grid.

“And where do you think you’re going to take me, Director?” Ward asked. “You need me. And if your defenses were breached here, there’s nowhere that you’re safe.”

“Is that a threat?” May asked.

“We told you already, Ward,” Coulson said, cutting May off. “This is an execution. Lucky for us, your brother is willing to take you off our hands. For good.” 

Ward felt the blood drain from his face. Now he knew why Fitz couldn’t look at him. The cuffs were cold. He didn’t bother fighting May’s strong grip. After all, what point was there really? This time, it wasn’t a metaphor. The building really was falling down around him. 

* * *

 

The Kevlar was a little big on Skye. It was Ward’s. She had found it in his apartment after her other location had fallen through. (Even while running through SHIELD's alleged secure location  falling to pieces, she couldn’t help but pun to herself.)

The assault rifle might have been overkill, but she found that around here, it made her blend in. And Ward had always said, she needed more skills than one in any case. The only problem was, she couldn’t seem to find him anywhere.

“They took him.” 

Skye almost missed him. Somehow, that pale face escaped her attention. He looked familiar, like recalling something from a lost dream. Fitz was curled in a corner, taking the onslaught of falling plaster.

“Who did?” Skye asked.

“The Team,” Fitz said. “He’s in an armored truck with five armed guards.”

“Why are you telling me this?” Skye asked.

“I don’t know,” Fitz answered. “You never seemed like a bad person to me.”

She remembered him now. Running into him in some random hotel. It seemed like lifetimes ago.

“Do they know what you did?” Skye asked.

“It’s okay,” Fitz answered. “No matter what Ward did, he doesn’t deserve to be murdered. I stand by that. You should hurry. They’ll be looking for him if he broke out of the truck already.” 

“You think he did?”

“He could have broken out any time,” Fitz said. “But now’s the opportune moment. He knows you’re here. You should find him before they do.”

“I’m not a spy,” Skye said. “I’m just me.” 

“I know the feeling,” Fitz said. “We all have our strengths.”

“I’m sorry if the dog hurt any of your friends,” Skye said. “I just had to get out of there.”

“Like right now.”

“You don’t honestly think I’m going to let you die in here, are you?” Skye asked shaking her head. She offered him her hand.

“It’s okay,” Fitz said. “I can get myself out of here. I have my friends.”

He tapped his briefcase. 

“I don’t know what that means,” Skye said, and pulled him up.

He smiled at her. 

“I kind of wish things could be different.” 

“I know the feeling,” Skye smiled back. Not for the first time, she felt herself warming to these people. She suddenly understood Ward’s inner turmoil over the whole thing.  “Stick with me, and you won’t be buried. I promise.” 

“Just find him,” Fitz said. “No one should be alone in this world.”

* * *

 

Ward almost considered attempting small talk. The guards might as well have been pointing their guns directly at his head. It would be a good way to go. Better than having to face Christian in this humiliating way. Shackled and in a jumpsuit, ready to be buried in an unmarked grave. A known sadist, Christian would relish prolonging Ward’s pain. He always had. Though to be fair, Christian wasn’t exactly known. Most sociopaths weren’t.

The sunlight burned his eyes, but he took it without complaint. He could only enjoy the first time in fresh air in months for a few seconds before they piled him into the airtight van.

“Do not give him one inch,” he heard a guard say. If Ward’s muscles weren’t so atrophied, he would have tried to smile. It was a compliment, really. 

What they should have realized was if he wanted to escape, he would have before now. He was doing them a courtesy. Hydra had always been a means to an end for him. And after the attempt on Skye’s life, he would give up any information to an organization that would bring them down.

But those weren’t the circumstances anymore. The former SHIELD facility was crumbling behind him as the truck drove away. He knew there was only one choice. She was waiting for him.

He prepared himself. He let the guards and the movements of the truck fade into the background. He closed his eyes, feeling the bone of his thumb. All it would take was one second. One second and it would all be over. 

Then again, he had a high threshold for pain. 

_Crack_.

The guards didn’t even hear it. They couldn’t respond quickly enough. Ward hadn’t let his skills diminish in his prison cell. As sedated as he had been, there was always room for improvement. There had always been time to cultivate the only thing he had left. Five guards had been too little. He hadn’t forgotten about the driver. That would take more finessing. Or so he thought.

The truck came to a grinding halt. Ward’s back hit the roof of the truck as he was thrown from the force of the collision. He recovered quickly, throwing his foot against the doors of the truck. He rolled out deftly. One cuff still dangled from his wrist, his repurposed gun dangling from his uninjured hand. There was a clear fissure in the road. The driver was bleeding but he looked alive. Ward didn't have to wonder who or what had caused the road to crack. She had always been strong. But when he scanned the area, he couldn't find her.  

She was _here_. She couldn’t have made that more obvious. But the answer of where was something he just couldn't wait around for. He felt a cracked rib or two. He wouldn’t be able to make it more than a few miles. Christian would be looking for him. Hydra wasn’t even the worst of it. But he would be damned if he abandoned her like this. Not again. He could see the building in the distance, collapsing into dust. He had to make contingencies. That was his training. He remembered that. That’s what his instincts were telling him. 

His instincts had led him here, hadn’t they? How could he trust them now? How could he leave her again?

He saw her coming out of the rubble, face smudged, decked in black Kevlar with her hair pulled back. He couldn’t stop the smile from spreading across his face. She had broken into his apartment. That was his favorite rifle. 

She looked spent herself. And then her eyes landed on him. She didn’t smile. She almost looked… angry? 

Her lips were on his before he could decide what it was. His arms surrounded her, a dear and lost friend having found him again. He held her close, smelling her sweat, and dust, and metal. It was all finally real.

“Well aren’t you a sight for sore eyes,” he said. Skye broke away. She did look angry.

“What are you still doing out here?” Skye asked impatiently. She was still jacked up on adrenaline.

“Waiting for you,” he said.

She finally let the breath she was holding out of her lungs. She reached up and scraped her fingernails through his facial hair that had grown the months he was inside.

“Look at you,” she said. 

He rubbed his face, feeling the bristles prickle his skin. “I kind of like it." 

She smiled and he felt like his heart was finally beating again.

“Sorry I’m late,” Skye said. “I had to make a stop first.”

Laughter bubbled from Ward’s chest. It came up almost violently like he had never laughed before in his life. Of course Skye had to make a stop. Of course she did.

“What’s funny?” Skye asked, her nose wrinkling. 

“Glad you could make it, rookie,” Ward said. 

Skye sighed in that annoyed way that she did. “Waiting on you, SO." 

Ward held his hand out to her. Her smile was soft and subtle, like the moment where he had first seen her. Trying to act nonchalant in a convenience store. He had made her immediately. A destructive twenty-one year old with a penchant for exasperating him.

He never had a chance. Skye’s hand curled around his, squeezing his callused fingers with reassurance. They set off towards the armored car.

_The end_


End file.
